Four injured and 867 people affected by 7.5 earthquake in Peru

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The number of people injured by the earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale in Peru rose this Sunday to four. In contrast, the number of victims rose to 867, according to the National Emergency Operations Center (COEN).

The earthquake occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning and left 220 houses affected, of which 75 were destroyed and seven churches and three health centers.

There are also 900 meters of roads affected in different parts of the country, such as the Fernando Beláunde Terry highway, which was blocked by several landslides and mudslides.

Likewise, several provinces were left without electricity supply after the earthquake.

Damage is concentrated in several municipalities in the Amazonas region, in northern Peru, near the epicenter of the earthquake, located 98 kilometers east of the town of Santa Maria de Nieva, where the quake was felt with extreme intensity.

Damage was also reported in infrastructure in the neighboring regions of Loreto, San Martín, Cajamarca, and in the interior of the department of Lambayeque, according to Peru’s Prime Minister, Mirtha Vásquez, who coordinated the damage assessment at the COEN facilities early in the morning.

Meanwhile, the President of Peru, Pedro Castillo, has traveled to the municipality of La Jalca, in the Amazonas region, which seems to be the most affected population, with numerous collapsed buildings, including the bell tower of the church of Jalca Grande, a building from the colonial era.

Some of the most shocking images of the day were also recorded there, such as the rescue of a man who had been trapped under the rubble of his house.

“All my solidarity with the people of Amazonas in the face of the strong earthquake that occurred. You are not alone, brothers. We will support those affected, and we will act in the face of the material damages,” wrote on social networks President Castillo, whose government  evaluates declaring an emergency in the most affected provinces.

Given the proximity of the earthquake’s epicenter to Ecuador, damage to homes was also reported in the Ecuadorian cantons of Zamora and Loja, with several buildings affected and a church collapsed.

The earthquake originated at an excellent earth depth of 131 kilometers, which reduced its destructive power on the surface but amplified the reach of its seismic wave to a wide geographic area that covered a large part of South America and was felt as far away as Colombia.

This circumstance also caused the first earthquake warning offered by the U.S. Geological Survey, initially located the epicenter near the coastal town of Barranca, about 1,000 kilometers from the actual location of the earthquake.

From Colombia, where no damage has been reported for the moment, its president, Ivan Duque, expressed his solidarity with Peru on Sunday and offered help in case it is required.

Peru is located in the area known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, where approximately 85% of the world’s seismic activity is registered.