PERU: A strong quake rattles Peru sending students and workers in Lima scurrying to the streets though no major damages have been reported
Record ID:
1538430
PERU: A strong quake rattles Peru sending students and workers in Lima scurrying to the streets though no major damages have been reported
- Title: PERU: A strong quake rattles Peru sending students and workers in Lima scurrying to the streets though no major damages have been reported
- Date: 25th August 2011
- Summary: MAN WALKING DOWN STREET WITH DAUGHTER ON SHOULDER
- Embargoed: 10th September 2011 10:08
- Keywords:
- Location: Peru, Peru
- Country: Peru
- Topics: Disasters
- Reuters ID: LVA3L899CHSWIPVY89VKDSBEJ8Z9
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: A 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck a remote Amazon region of Peru on Wednesday (August 24), shaking office buildings far away in the capital and in neighboring Brazil although only minor injuries and damage have been reported.
The quake's epicenter was near the town of Pucallpa, which lies some 600 km (370 miles) from Lima in a sparsely populated central-eastern region close to the Brazilian border, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.
Telephone lines were down in the area, but local media said no serious damage or injuries had yet come to light. A 5.3-magnitude aftershock was registered in the area soon after the powerful initial tremor.
In the coastal Peruvian capital of Lima, the temblor shook some office buildings and some mobile phone services were interrupted.
"I was leaning on something and it started to shake and I said, 'What?' and a man passed by and told me, 'Ma'am, did you feel the earthquake?' And then I realized it was an earthquake but it passed quickly," Lima resident Yolanda Martel said.
Local radio bulletins said the quake caused alarm across central Peru, sending panicked students and workers rushing out of classrooms and offices.
"I didn't think it was that strong but there were people who fretted over it and left their workplaces," said another resident, Eusebio Orihuela.
Guillermo Alvizuri of the National Civil Defense said later in the afternoon that they had received reports of two people who had been injured, but that damage was still minimal.
"Today, there was an earthquake of 7 on the Richter scale. The epicenter was 44 kilometers southeast of Contama, in the Peruvian jungle in the Loreto region 149 kilometers (90 miles) below ground. We are still evaluating damages and the damages we have seen have been very minor. There is a report from Junin of two people with minor injuries caused by the collapse of a precarious home. There are also two school buildings in the Ucayali department that have some cracking. These are all the damages we have received," Alvizuri said.
One seismologist said that the depth of the quake played a role in the small amount of damages. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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