An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hit the department of Junín, Peru, located about 300 kilometers from the capital Lima, this Saturday (18). The country’s National Institute of Civil Defense reported, this Sunday (19), that five people died and more than 20 were injured.
The National Police said it maintains more than 250 professionals in affected areas, including special emergency and rescue services, canine units and doctors. In addition, the Volunteer Fire Department mobilized a workforce of 50 people and ten units to respond to the emergency.
“In coordination with the National Police, first aid teams continue to carry out search and rescue operations, rubble removal, evacuation of affected people, pre-hospital care and support for the population in the most impacted areas”, says the statement from the Ministry of the Interior.
The earthquake occurred at 9:24 pm local time, at a depth of 24 kilometers in the Andean region, as announced by General Luis Vásquez, head of Civil Defense. The epicenter of the tremor was identified in the district of Chongos Bajo, in the province of Chupaca.
Peru is located on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where there is a high incidence of seismic and volcanic activity due to the movement of tectonic plates. The region covers 40 thousand kilometers from the west coast of the Americas to the east coast of Asia. It is in this range that about 90% of all earthquakes in the world occur.
“The Ministry of the Interior expresses its deepest condolences to the families of the victims and reaffirms its commitment to continue coordinating all necessary efforts to respond to the emergency, protect the lives and safety of the population and provide timely assistance to the affected families, in coordination with the competent authorities”, completes the note released this Sunday (19).
Tremors in Latin America
Last Friday (17), the coast of the state of Chiapas, in southern Mexico, was hit by a magnitude 7.3 earthquake. In addition to cities close to the epicenter, aftershocks were also felt in Guatemala and El Salvador.
The United States Tsunami Warning System issued a warning for Mexico and Guatemala and reported the possibility of smaller waves in eight other countries in Latin America. To date, Mexican and Guatemalan authorities have not reported major damage or casualties.
The scenario differs from the tragedy in Venezuela, which recorded 5,069 deaths as a result of earthquakes. According to official data, 21,235 people are still sheltered in 107 transitional camps.
Two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale devastated the country on June 24. The researcher at the Seismology Center at the University of São Paulo (USP) Carolina Rivadeneyra explained in the BdF Connectionyes Radio Brasil de Fatothat the catastrophe is related to the tectonic context of Venezuela.
“We study past seismicity to understand how the Earth will continue to act in the present and in the future. In the case of Venezuela, the last strong earthquake in the region was almost 100 years ago. There is a history of a long period without strong earthquakes, which indicates that tensions are accumulating. The more time that passes, the greater the probability that a new earthquake will occur in places where they have occurred before”, explains Rivadeneyra.
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
