Earthquake with magnitude 7.2 and several injuries

Arequipa. The Pacific coast of Peru is not at rest after the severe earthquake on Friday night. Another powerful quake, whose magnitude Peru’s Geophysical Institute (IGP) gave as 6.4, shook the region on Saturday night (local time). There were already several small aftershocks in the southern Peruvian region of Arequipa during the course of Friday.

The first major quake shortly after midnight on Friday had a magnitude of 7.2, according to the US Geological Survey USGS, and initially prompted the local marine authority to issue a tsunami warning for the coast of the South American country. There were reports of some structural damage and up to 14 people with minor injuries, so the quake was also felt in the major cities of Ica and Lima.

The Andean state is constantly quaking because several tectonic plates collide in the region. Peru, like its neighboring countries Chile and Ecuador, are located on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, the most seismically active zone on earth. In the last century alone, Peru has experienced a series of devastating earthquakes with magnitudes of around 8.0, most recently in 2007.

A particularly severe earthquake in the region last occurred on the coast of Chile in September 2015. The quake, measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale, triggered a tsunami, which prompted the evacuation of around one million residents. Later, a tidal wave more than four meters high reached the coastal city of Coquimbo. The strongest earthquake ever recorded in the world, with a magnitude of 9.5, also hit Chile in May 1960.

RND/dpa