Thousands flee Panama City after 7.2 earthquake as buildings collapse in central provinces

A 7.2 magnitude earthquake has hit southern Panama, triggering evacuations, damaging buildings and disrupting power.

Journalist Mauricio Valenzuela, reporting live from Panama City beside the Centenario Bridge over the canal, says thousands of people are trying to leave the city.

Panama has hundreds of skyscrapers, and when the quake was felt, everyone ran into the streets. There are no reports of major structural damage in the capital, only minor problems.

Valenzuela says Panama is not a seismic country and people are not used to earthquakes. No one knows exactly what is happening, he says, and there has been little communication. There have been more than 33 aftershocks since the first quake at noon, one of the strongest a 6.2 that felt just like the first.

Mauricio Valenzuela reports from Panama City.

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