Massive Earthquake Rocks Peru Less Than 24 Hours After California And Chile Quakes
A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Peru Sunday evening, making it the third major earthquake to hit the west coast of the Americas in less than 24 hours.
The earthquake was centered in a sparsely populated area of Peru near Tambo, about 290 miles southeast of the capital city of Lima. ABC News reports that Peru’s fire agency spokesman Mario Casareto said there are no immediate reports of damage or injuries, but authorities are still surveying the Ayacucho region in which the earthquake was centered.
According to The Weather Channel, Peruvian news outlet El Comercio reported that residents of Huamanga, the capital of the Ayacucho region, fled to a local parade ground for safety during the earthquake. Cellphone and power outages have also been reported in Cusco, located in southeastern Peru.
The earthquake was felt hundreds of miles away in Lima and in other major southeastern Peru cities.
Google Alerts posted an alert from ready.com, which included the following warning for residents of the area: “Expect aftershocks. These secondary shockwaves are usually less violent than the main quake but can be strong enough to do additional damage to weakened structures and can occur after the first hours, days, weeks, or even months after the quake.”
Several people in Peru tweeted about the earthquake, most in distant areas and not aware of the magnitude at the time.
Just experienced a real life earthquake in #Peru — we are safe in Cuzco but I spilled my coca tea! Hope ppl are safe in Cora Cora
— Jennifer Cruickshank (@JR_Shank79) August 24, 2014
Minor #earthquake here in #Peru just now. Thought it was altitude sickness kicking in.
— Preet Banerjee (@preetbanerjee) August 24, 2014
My first #earthquake! #Arequipa #Peru #travel
— Brandon Green (@brandonbgreen) August 24, 2014
The Peru earthquake comes just hours after a 6.0 magnitude quake struck Northern California. The Inquisitr reports that the California earthquake hit the Napa Valley wine region particularly hard.
ABC reports that the Napa earthquake was the strongest one in 25 years for California, damaging historic buildings and injuring nearly 100 people. Governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency.
On Saturday evening, just a few hours before the early morning California quake, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck about 73 miles north of Santiago, Chile, in the port city of Valparaiso. No immediate damage or injuries were reported, but there were electricity and telephone outages in the area, and those in surrounding areas felt the earthquake. The Chile earthquake was originally thought to be a 6.6 magnitude, but was downgraded to a 6.4 later in the evening.
[Image courtesy of Sincedutch]
