TERRIFYING footage shows the moment sports broadcasters flee the set on live TV as a huge earthquake strikes near Panama Canal.

The monster quake sent tremors across the southern coast of Panama yesterday – with a magnitude of 7.7 and a depth of 10km recorded by the US Geological Survey.

The tremors triggered the US tsunami warning system, with alerts issued across a number of South American countries – including Chile and Mexico.

Footage shows the five presenters looking around nervously as the walls begins to violently shudder. 

The men then cautiously evacuate the set, mics still in hand, with the lights and ceiling fan seen swinging behind them. 

The camera continues to roll as the tremors become more and more violent, with a vase seen toppling from the counter and the widescreen TV juddering. 

Seismologists have located the epicentre at 196km from Panama City and around 14km south-west of the remote community of Pitaloza Arriba.

Visibly shaken residents were seen evacuating buildings and gathering on city streets following the quake.

Vessels have reportedly continued to move through the world-famous canal without disruptions however, authorities said.

Videos circulating online show construction workers backing away from an industrial site as the building's steel frame shakes and cranes move precariously.

Shocking footage shows water from a highrise pool gushing over the glass-panelled barrier onto the terrace below.

Elsewhere, ceiling panels are seen crashing down from a ceiling leaving exposed wires dangling in the corridor and debris on the floor.

Another video shows people fleeing from a warehouse as its roof panels tremble.

Drivers recorded people standing nervously on the roadside as electricity masts shudder in the quake.

Rosendo Domnguez, 60, from the Herrera Province, said: "We felt it very strongly.

"It knocked things over in the kitchen, but we were okay, though very scared."

Local newspaper La Prensa said that across the Central American country, buildings, schools and homes were evacuated as a result of the "powerful movement of the earth".

Omar Smith, who heads Panama's Civil Protection Service, told the Telemetro Reporta news channel that damage was concentrated in the central provinces of Veraguas, Herrera and Los Santos.