Panama's government declared a state of emergency on Saturday as aftershocks from two powerful earthquakes kept shaking the country.

A magnitude 7.7 quake struck Friday about 6 miles southwest of the remote town of Pitaloza Arriba, in central Herrera province, the U.S. Geological Survey said. A magnitude 6.6 quake followed. Both were shallow, about 6 miles deep. The shaking was felt as far away as Colombia.

Seismologists have recorded more than 100 aftershocks, the AP reported. They include quakes of magnitude 5.8, 5.5 and 5.2.

Officials have not tied any deaths to the earthquakes. Civil protection official Malitzie Rivera said 27 people had minor to moderate injuries. Presidential Minister Juan Carlos Orillac announced the emergency. He said homes, schools, health centers, roads and hotels were damaged. Damage was reported in all 10 provinces and two Indigenous territories. The worst was in Veraguas, Herrera, Cocle and Los Santos.

In La Villa de Los Santos, a colonial-era town about 40 miles from the epicenter, homes and a historic Catholic church collapsed, the Associated Press reported. Many people spent the night sleeping in the streets. They feared more shaking and waited for word from the government on what to do next.

About 420 homes and the same number of public schools were damaged, along with at least 13 churches and nine bridges, the AP reported. Some communities remain cut off by landslides.

"It was a terrible thing," said Tony Jiménez, 90, whose home partly collapsed. "In my 90 years, I had never experienced anything like it."

Panama's strict building codes may explain the low toll, said Carlos Valdés, a seismologist at Mexico's national university. The quake also briefly set off tsunami alerts on Friday.

What we know: two strong quakes hit Panama, and no deaths have been reported.
What we don't: the full extent of damage in communities cut off by landslides.