Magnitude 6.6 Earthquake Rocks Central America

A major earthquake struck early Monday just off Panama's coast near its border with Costa Rica.

The 6.6-magnitude temblor was centered 20 kilometers (12 miles) east-southeast of Punta de Burica, Panama, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It had a depth of 20 km (12 miles) and occurred at 3:54 a.m. local time.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the region, La Prensa Panama reported on its Twitter feed, citing government officials.

The earthquake was felt in Panama City and other cities in both Panama and Costa Rica, the USGS said.

There was no tsunami danger to the U.S. and Canadian west coasts and Alaska as a result of the earthquake, the U.S. National Tsunami Warning Center said.

Monday's earthquake followed a magnitude-6.0 earthquake that occurred in the same area two days earlier on Saturday, Dec. 6.