A magnitude 7.7 earthquake shook Panama on Friday, triggering evacuations and tsunami alerts.

The earthquake reportedly collapsed buildings near its epicenter.

“A magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred near Pitaloza Arriba, Panama on Oct 9 at 12:56 PM local time,” the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) stated.

“The USGS assesses that extensive shaking impacts are probable, and the disaster is likely widespread. Approximately 4.6 million people experienced Moderate (MMI V) to Severe (VIII) shaking,” it added.

Footage from Panama has circulated on social media:

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“Tremors were felt in Panama City, where buildings shook and people evacuated into the streets,” CBS News stated.

More from the Associated Press:

The quake, which was felt as far away as neighboring Colombia, was centered about 10 kilometers (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 10 kilometers (6 miles).

The USGS initially reported the quake as magnitude 8, then revised it to 7.6 and later to 7.7.

Visibly shaken residents of Panama City gathered outside as they waited for news of the quake’s impact on Friday.

“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.”

Multiple aftershocks continued to rattle Panama, including several measuring magnitude 5.8, 5.5 and 5.2. Seismologists at the University of Panama recorded more than 45 aftershocks, though many were too weak to be felt.

“Panama is located near the junction of several major tectonic plates, including the oceanic Cocos and Nazca plates to the west and south, and the Caribbean and South America plates to the north and east, respectively. These larger plates surround the Panama microplate. Along the southern boundary, the Cocos plate subducts beneath the Panama microplate and the Nazca plate obliquely converges with the microplate, while along its northern boundary, the Caribbean Plate subducts beneath it. The earthquake’s focal mechanism indicates left-lateral strike-slip faulting, consistent with the style of deformation commonly observed along this complex plate boundary,” the USGS wrote.

“Earthquakes are frequent in this region, although most historical seismicity has been concentrated west of today’s event along the Panama Fracture Zone, a north-south-trending plate boundary that separates the Cocos and Nazca plates. Notable historical earthquakes in the broader area include a magnitude 7.5 event in July 1934 and a magnitude 7.2 event in July 1962,” it added.

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“The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center had initially warned about the possibility of tsunami waves hitting Panama’s coast, but later said the threat had passed,” CBS News wrote.

CBS News shared further:

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino called for calm on Friday, writing on social media: “What happened should not be used to cause alarm or disorder.”

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.

The quake is at least the fourth one this year in Latin America surpassing 7.0 in magnitude, after devastating earthquakes in Venezuela’s Guaira in June and a powerful earthquake in western Colombia in August.

Panama lies along the “Ring of Fire,” a 25,000-mile arc of volcanoes and fault lines around the Pacific Basin, where most of the world’s earthquakes occur.

Watch additional coverage below:

 

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