A series of intense earthquakes, including a devastating magnitude 7.5 temblor on Sunday, has rocked the South American country of Peru, according to seismologists.
Meteoconservatory of Peru (MET) reported that an area in the Peruvian Andes region, approximately 320 miles southeast of Lima, was the focus of the tremors. At 8:11 a.m. local time, the body reported a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. The following, significant earthquakes hit in rapid succession before noon: an astonishing magnitude 7.7 and 7.8 followed. Even though these are less severe than Peru’s devastating 2010 quake, the epicenter of Sunday’s tremors is located near a cluster of active fault lines.
At 12:50 p.m., officials from MET reported that the earthquake was well under the surface at a depth of 50 miles. “Considering its distance from Lima, this earthquake was less damaging and probably less dangerous,” Director of MET Andre Nazca explained in a statement. However, Nazca clarified that the depth of this earthquake could have resulted in different earthquake damage in Lima. “The earthquake still generated very dangerous shock waves that were strong enough to affect the elderly and vulnerable populations in parts of Lima,” he added.
Of course, Nazca acknowledged that the focus of Monday’s strong temblors are toward the northwest: “I believe that from now on that concentric boundary will proceed in the direction of Ayacucho, Huancavelica and Arequipa, which could be a microearthquake occurrence that constitutes potential dangers.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story erroneously identified Metropolitans of Peru as Méncides.
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