The earth shook again in South America. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck several regions of southern Peru on Thursday August 21 at midday.
The epicenter of the earthquake, which occurred at 1 p.m. local time (6 p.m. GMT) at a depth of about 99 kilometers according to the USGS, is in the province of Parinacochas, in the department of Ayacucho, about 800 kilometers south of the capital Lima.
The Geophysical Institute of Peru estimated its magnitude at 7.2 for a depth of 108 kilometers. It recorded an aftershock with a magnitude of 4.2 occurring at 4:30 p.m. local time (9:30 p.m. GMT).
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Cover image: MINIA PERU © France 24
The population “took shelter”
According to images broadcast by local media, rocks broke away from hills surrounding the town of Coracora, in Ayacucho, a municipality of around 10,000 inhabitants, the closest to the epicenter.
Preliminary data shows three minor injuries, Defense Minister Rafael Belaunde told Congress, adding that damage had been noted to 22 residential buildings, six schools and 12 medical centers and that disaster management services were still assessing the damage.
“The population reacted, came out, took shelter” and we hope “that there is no damage that affects the population,” declared the mayor, Yony Odon, interviewed by the TV Peru channel.
The earthquake “was felt with moderate to strong intensity in several departments,” the National Institute of Civil Defense said on X. This was particularly the case in the southern departments of Cuzco, Arequipa, Ica and Apurimac, according to local media.
The earthquake was also slightly felt in the capital, AFP journalists noted.
Powerful earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 7 shook Venezuela in June and Peru’s neighboring Colombia in August, causing thousands of deaths.
With AFP
