A 7.6 magnitude earthquake shakes Panama and activates the tsunami alert in Chile

An earthquake of magnitude 7.7 shook the southeast of Panama this Friday, with a depth of 10 kilometers, reported the United States Geological Survey (USGS). A possible tsunami warning has also been reported in Chile, according to the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy.

According to the USGS, the epicenter was recorded 12 kilometers from the town of Tonosí, located in southern Panama, and about 239 kilometers from the capital.

The movement occurred at 12:56 p.m. (local time) and was initially reported with a magnitude of 7.6, which was later updated to 7.7 by the USGS.

The tremor was strongly felt in some areas of the Panamanian capital, where several buildings in the old banking area were evacuated preventively.

In recent months, large earthquakes have occurred in Latin America.

In Venezuela, the first two earthquakes occurred, one after the other, of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, on June 24, generating massive destruction in La Guaira, about 30 kilometers from Caracas.

According to the latest report from the Venezuelan Government on August 24, the earthquakes caused at least 6,509 deaths, 14,239 homes with moderate damage and 11,001 homes with serious damage.

In Colombia, on the morning of August 10, a 7.4 earthquake affected 500 municipalities in 16 departments, half of the 32 in the country, where 486,917 people belonging to 303,934 families suffered some type of damage.