Northern Peru hit by 7.5 magnitude earthquake

A 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck northern Peru at 5:52 a.m. (11:52 a.m. in Paris) on Sunday, said the United States Institute for Geological Studies (USGS). The earthquake struck the jungle in the north of the country as well as a large area near the central coast, said the Peruvian National Institute of Geophysics.

The Peruvian Institute locates the epicenter of the earthquake 98 kilometers east of Santa Maria de Nieva, capital of the province of Condorcanqui in the department of Amazonas 860 kilometers northeast of Lima near the border with Ecuador, at a depth of 131 kilometers, which generally reduces the damage and the number of victims.

Santa María de Nieva is located in a sparsely populated area where indigenous people live, on the banks of the Nieva River. In Barranca, the steeple of a church has collapsed. In its initial reports, the civil defense specifies that, for the moment, no casualties have been reported. No tsunami warning was issued after the earthquake.

The shock was felt in almost half of the country, in the North and the Center, especially in regions like Cajamarca, Piura, Tumbes, Lambayeque, Ancash and in the capital. In Lima, located more than a thousand kilometers south of the epicenter, the population took to the streets of certain neighborhoods. Power cuts have been reported in affected areas. The earthquake was also felt in Colombia.

Peru is rocked each year by at least a hundred earthquakes noticeable to the population, as it is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area of ​​land-based activity that stretches along the west coast of the continent. American.

Le Monde with AP and AFP


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