A strong magnitude 6 earthquake struck Lima and other areas of Peru’s central coast on Tuesday evening, without immediate damage or casualties, the National Seismological Center said.
The earthquake, which was initially rated at magnitude 5.8, occurred at 9:54 p.m. local time, with an epicenter 32 kilometers deep, and a distance of 33 kilometers southwest of Mala, a coastal town itself located about a hundred kilometers south of the Peruvian capital, according to the organization. The hydrographic service has ruled out any risk of a tsunami.
Expected aftershocks
“It is one of the strongest earthquakes in Lima in recent years. We do not yet know if there is material or human damage, (but) little by little we will have information, ”said Hernando Tavera, director of the Geophysical Institute of Peru. “It’s a fairly large earthquake, we expect there will be aftershocks.” Radio Nacional indicated that in Mala, some adobe dwellings had collapsed, without giving further details.
Many residents of Lima took to the streets due to the strong shaking. “It was very strong, it shook the whole house, we had to go out,” said Julia Lazaro Rodriguez, 60. On the Green Coast, Lima’s waterfront, a few rocks fell from 80-meter-high cliffs, Canal N TV reported.
Pacific Ring of Fire
At Jorge Chavez International Airport, elements of the ceiling have fallen on benches in waiting rooms, but the airport, uncrowded due to the coronavirus pandemic, continues to operate, according to Radio Nacional. In supermarkets, there were broken bottles, according to the press.
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. This earthquake occurs in a country which is still awaiting the official proclamation of the results of the second round of the presidential election on June 6.