A 6.7-magnitude seismic event rattled the southern Andes mountain range of Peru on Thursday, leaving two people injured and causing significant damage to residential and public infrastructure across multiple affected districts, national emergency officials confirmed.
Data released by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) pinpoints the earthquake’s timing at 1 p.m. local time (18:00 GMT), with its epicenter located roughly 38 kilometers, or 24 miles, northwest of Upahuacho, a small city in Parinacochas Province within Peru’s Ayacucho region. The temblor originated at a depth of 66 kilometers, approximately 41 miles, beneath the surface. The shaking was felt across a broad swath of southern Peru, reaching as far as the country’s coastal capital of Lima, in addition to the southern regions of Ica, Arequipa, Huancavelica, Apurimac and Cusco.
Luis Vásquez, director of Peru’s national Civil Defense agency, told reporters that the two injured people were hurt during emergency evacuation from their damaged homes in Coracora, the capital city of Parinacochas Province. Preliminary damage assessments compiled by local authorities note that 22 private residences, six public health clinics, and one primary school have been impacted across multiple districts spanning Ayacucho and Cusco, affecting communities including Puquio, Pullo, Coracora, Upahuacho, San Pedro and Pichari. Geologists also confirmed reports of rockslides on steep hillsides surrounding Coracora, triggered by the intense shaking.
In a public briefing after the quake, the Peruvian Navy quickly issued a statement ruling out any risk of a tsunami following the inland seismic event. Peru sits along the Pacific Ocean’s geologically active Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped zone that sees roughly 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes annually due to tectonic plate movement along plate boundaries. Seismic activity is a constant, regular hazard for communities across the country.
The region has a history of devastating high-magnitude quakes. In 2007, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck a province in Ica region claimed the lives of nearly 600 people, marking one of the deadliest natural disasters in modern Peruvian history. As of Thursday evening, emergency response teams have been deployed to the most heavily affected areas to conduct further damage assessments and provide support to displaced residents.