The quake was centered about 6 miles southwest of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba, in the central province of Herrera, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It struck at a depth of 6 miles.
Visibly shaken residents of Panama City gathered outside as they waited for news of the quake’s impact on Friday. Aftershocks followed, with the USGS recording two measuring 5.8 and 5.5.
“We felt it very strongly. It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we’re okay, though we’re very scared," Rosendo Domínguez, 60, who is from Herrera province, where the earthquake struck, told The Associated Press by phone. “Everyone is outside, scared.”
Omar Smith of the National Civil Protection Service said on the Telemetro Reporta news channel that damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos. He said there were no reports of damage in the capital, which is known for its hundreds of skyscrapers.
Video aired by local news outlets showed a Catholic cathedral collapsing and part of a hotel’s facade falling onto a car in the city of Penonomé, in the central province of Coclé. No casualties were immediately reported.
