5.5 Quake Hits Peru, Killing Several And Damaging Church

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

LIMA (Worthy News) – A magnitude 5.5 earthquake shook Peru’s central Andes region, killing at least five people, injuring more than 20 others, and damaging numerous buildings, including a church and convent, authorities said Sunday.

About 300 people were displaced by the destruction, according to officials.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the earthquake struck at 9:24 p.m. local time Saturday, with its epicenter about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) west-southwest of Sicaya in Huancayo province at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

Peru’s National Civil Defense Institute said the total number of missing people remained unknown as emergency teams continued searching affected communities.

PERU RESCUE OPERATIONS CONTINUE

Several buildings collapsed or sustained significant structural damage, including a local church and convent.

Emergency teams, including police, firefighters, and medical personnel, were deployed to carry out search-and-rescue operations while assessing damage to homes, schools, health facilities, roads, and livestock.

Images broadcast by local media showed distraught residents in one of the hardest-hit areas, the agricultural region of Chongo Bajo, huddling under blankets outside heavily damaged homes as rescuers searched through the rubble. Other video footage obtained by Worthy News showed streets violently shaking with residents rushing for cover.

Animals were also seen trapped beneath collapsed structures, while authorities warned that the casualty toll could rise as rescue crews continued reaching remote communities and inspecting unstable buildings.

POWERFUL MEXICO EARTHQUAKE

The Peru earthquake struck a day after a much stronger magnitude 7.3 quake hit off Mexico’s southern Pacific coast near the border with Guatemala.

That tremor was felt across parts of Mexico and Central America, including Guatemala and El Salvador, and as far away as Mexico City.

Two people were injured in southern Mexico, but authorities reported no deaths, severe damage, or widespread destruction.

Tsunami advisories were issued for parts of the Pacific coast before being lifted, while the U.S. Geological Survey recorded at least 10 aftershocks ranging from magnitudes 4.9 to 6.

PACIFIC RING OF FIRE

There was no immediate indication that the Peru and Mexico earthquakes were directly connected.

However, both countries are part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a vast belt of seismic and volcanic activity surrounding the Pacific Ocean.

In Peru, the Nazca Plate is forced beneath the South American Plate, making earthquakes a frequent occurrence.

In 2007, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake devastated the province of Pisco in the Ica region, killing nearly 600 people and injuring thousands in one of Peru’s deadliest natural disasters in recent decades.

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