Citizens of Peru, Brazil, Colombia, and Ecuador awoke around 5:52 a.m. local time to a 7.5 magnitude earthquake. The quake’s epicenter was reported in the Amazonas region, however, it was felt all the way in the capital of Lima and neighboring towns.
The focal point of the event occurred roughly 25 miles northwest of Barranca — a coastal city of 63,000 people — and about 100 miles north of Lima.
Peru’s earthquake was a “result of normal faulting at an intermediate depth, approximately 110 km beneath the Earth’s surface within the subducted lithosphere of the Nazca plate. Focal mechanism solutions indicate that rupture occurred on either a north-northwest or south-southeast striking, moderately dipping normal fault,” according to the United States Geological Study (USGS).
They further stated these quakes are on account of “strains generated by this ongoing subduction; at this latitude, the Nazca plate is seismically active to depths of about 650 km. This earthquake occurred in a segment of the subducted plate that has produced frequent earthquakes with focal depths of 100 to 150 km.”
The seismic event caused a 16th-century Catholic church tower to collapse. No serious injuries or deaths were immediately reported. Damages to infrastructures and buildings could have been reduced due to the earthquake occurring 0.7 miles under the Earth’s surface.
The city of Jalca Grande’s Mayor, Walter Culqui, informed RPP Noticias around “60 or 70%” of the 3,000 families had some damages to their homes. He also stated three individuals suffered minor injuries. Machinery will be required to remove rubble from blocked roads and battered dwellings, stated Culqui.
This 7.5 magnitude quake happened after a 5.1 magnitude temblor rattled the outskirts of the Lima region.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
USA Today: Magnitude 7.5 earthquake rocks Peru, topples centuries-old church tower; by John Bacon
CNN: Magnitude 7.5 earthquake shakes Peru; by Claudia Rebaza
USGS: M 7.5 – 42 km NNW of Barranca, Peru
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Inset Image Courtesy of Squicker’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
