A 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck Peru’s Andes region, killing six people, injuring 32 and destroying dozens of homes in Chongos Bajo
A 5.1 magnitude earthquake in the Andes region of Peru killed six people and destroyed dozens of home, officials said Sunday.
The Saturday night tremor injured another 32 people as it shook the town of Chongos Bajo about 300 kilometers (180 miles) east of Lima, Prime Minister Luis Enrique Aroyo said. The epicenter’s depth was 24 km (15 miles).
“The earthquake destroyed our home. Here there are many adobe houses that collapsed,” an unnamed resident of Chongos Bajo told the N television network.
Because the epicenter was at a shallow depth and many houses in that area are made of adobe or a wood, cane and mud blend called “quincha,” some towns suffered significant damage, said General Luis Vasquez, the director of the National Civil Defense Institute.
“Forty-eight houses were destroyed and 300 people were left homeless,” he said.
Twelve aftershocks were recorded.
Peru is situated on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire — an arc of intense seismic activity stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.
Seismologists say Peru experiences at least 400 earthquakes per year, three-quarters of which are so weak people do not feel them.
Peru’s last major, deadly earthquake registered a magnitude of 7.9 and killed 595 people in 2007 as it hit the port city of Pisco in the southern Ica region. It also triggered a minor tsunami.
