A magnitude 7.0 earthquake shook the southern coast of Peru and according to authorities no deaths were recordedbut so far there are 14 injured, several homes and schools affected, power and road cuts due to landslides.
The strong earthquake had its epicenter off the coast of the town of Yauca, in the region of Arequipa —the second most populated city in the country— about 580 kilometers south of Lima, with a depth of 42 kilometers, reported the National Emergency Operations Center (COEN).
“We are making the first evaluations and thank God at this time we have no fatalities recorded”stated the Prime Minister of Peru, Gustavo Adrianzento local radio RPP, although he added that there is “damage to some properties.”
He National Tsunami Warning Center of USA and the Peruvian Navy They declared that the movement represented a tsunami warning, based on the first data available after the earthquake occurred.
Adrianzén later said that Navy tsunami warning dismissed, “although there could be some abnormal waves.” After the earthquake, at least Four aftershocks with magnitudes between 4.0 and 4.6 in the Arequipa regionaccording to the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP).
The Governor of Arequipa, Roel Sanchez Sanchezreported that the walls of several houses in towns near the epicenter of the earthquake had collapsed and that some sections of road had been blocked by landslides and rockslides.
Damage and consequences to housing and services
The governor’s office reported 14 people were injured in the region, 14 homes, six schools and two bridges were damaged, and water networks and electricity services were interrupted.
In the town of Yauca, and other neighbors near the coast, small artisanal gold mines operate but there was no information available on any impact. Ricardo Guillén, representative of the COEN, stated for his part that there was power outages and of telephone lines in areas near the earthquake epicenter.
Peru, a major mineral produceris located in a high seismicity region facing the Nazca tectonic plate in the Pacific Ocean.
Source: Ambito
