1 dead, 57 hurt in 7.1 magnitude quake that hit Peru

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Peru early Sunday morning has claimed one life and caused 57 injuries, according to officials in the country. It has also knocked down adobe homes in small, rural towns and forced closure of some roads.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the early morning quake had a magnitude was centered 25 miles from Acari, a small town in the Arequipa department of southwestern Peru. It was felt at least as far away as the Peruvian capital of Lima, some 350 miles from Acari.

Image: Aftermath of earthquake in Peru Image: Aftermath of earthquake in Peru

An aerial view of an area affected by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that struck in Arequipa, Peru, on Jan. 14, 2018. Peruvian Presidency / EPA

President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on Twitter he’s en route to the affected region to “verify the magnitude of the damage and send the needed humanitarian aid.”

Earlier, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center warned of “hazardous tsunami waves” for some coasts, saying there was a threat to some coasts of Peru and neighboring Chile.

At 5:20 a.m., a U.S. agency issued a tsunami threat message for parts of Peru and Chile’s coastlines after the earthquake. The threat ended approximately 25 minutes later with no reports of a tsunami.

USGS

The statement said that tsunami waves reaching 0.3 meters to one meter “above the tide level are possible for some coasts of Peru.” It also says waves are forecast to be less than 0.3 meters for the coasts of Chile.

But a later message said “there is no longer a tsunami threat from this earthquake” and that the center hadn’t observed any tsunami waves.