Powerful quake shakes Panama, canal operations normal

PANAMA CITY, Oct 9 - A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck near the southern coast of Panama on Friday at a 10 km depth, according to the US Geological Survey, yet no damage was initially reported and the Panama Canal Authority said the waterway was operating normally.Panama television footage showed people evacuating buildings.The quake's epicenter was close to the rural community of La Pitaloza in a sparsely populated area in the south of the country, close to the country's Pacific coastline.The impact prompted the US Tsunami Warning System to warn that hazardous tsunami waves were possible along parts of the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico within the next three hours.The system also said there was a tsunami threat to Hawaii.The quake was felt in the capital, Panama City, as well as in the capital of neighboring Costa Rica, according to Reuters witnesses. REUTERS