Some homes crumbled and a tsunami warning was issued after a 7.0 earthquake struck just off Peru’s southern coast. The impact caused buildings in the Peruvian capital, Lima, to shake, despite the city being 480 kilometers away.
“Earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within 100 kilometers of the earthquake epicenters,” the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said in a statement. The center advised authorities to act appropriately.
The quake struck just 80 kilometers from the nearest Peruvian city, Acari, according to the US Geological Survey, with its epicenter at a depth of 33 kilometers. The quake had originally been measured at a magnitude of 6.8.
While no deaths or injuries were immediately reported, homes in the province of Caraveli in Arequipa crumbled in the shock.
“Houses have fallen, walls have fallen, especially those made out of adobe…but there has been no report of a loss of human life,” Santiago Neyra, a town mayor in the region, told RPP radio.
A hill reportedly started collapsing in the area, a resident told the station, blocking a highway.
Heavy earthquakes in Peru are a fairly common occurrence as the country lies between two tectonic plates. In 2007, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake lasting three minutes struck Pisco, on Peru’s central shore, killing 595 and injuring 3,000. A Tsunami warning was issued, stretching as far as Hawaii.
On Tuesday, an earthquake of 7.7 struck southern Pakistan , and was felt as far as New Delhi, the capital of neighboring India, leaving at least 327 people dead and over 350 injured. A new island was created in its wake.