A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck near Panama's southern coast on Friday morning, triggering tsunami warnings stretching from Mexico to Peru. Tremors rattled Panama City more than 200 kilometres away, where residents felt buildings sway.
Photos from Panama City show cars crushed by falling debris. The quake's shallow offshore epicentre is exactly the profile that generates tsunami waves, hence the coast-wide alerts.
Canada's west coast lives under the same threat — the Cascadia fault off B.C. could deliver a magnitude-9. Toronto doesn't shake, but thousands of Torontonians have family across the Caribbean and Latin America, where quake alerts mean frantic phone calls home.
For Haitians in the 6ix, earthquake news hits different. January 12, 2010 is tattooed on a generation. Every distant tremor replays it.
Sources: CBC News. Context from the Young Hadene newsroom.
Magnitude 7.7, striking near the southern coast Friday morning.
Warnings were issued along coastlines from Mexico to Peru as a precaution.