International: A powerful earthquake sent tremors through Peru on Saturday, June 15, leaving one man dead and disrupting daily life in the capital, Lima. While Peru’s National Seismological Center reported the quake at a magnitude of 6.1, with its epicentre a mere 30 kilometres from the bustling port city of Callao, the US Geological Survey (USGS) logged it slightly lower at 5.6.
Tragically, a man in Lima lost his life when a wall, destabilised by the intense shaking, collapsed onto his vehicle, as confirmed by local police. The tremor also triggered multiple landslides across various parts of the capital region, with dramatic footage aired by Latina TV showcasing the immediate chaos.
Normal activities in Lima came to a grinding halt, including the suspension of a major football match that was in full swing when the earth began to heave. However, authorities swiftly allayed fears, confirming that no tsunami threat loomed over the coastal areas following the seismic event.
Peru, sitting squarely on the volatile Pacific Ring of Fire, is no stranger to such geological upheavals, experiencing over a hundred discernible earthquakes annually. The nation bears the scars of past devastating quakes, including a 7.5-magnitude tremor in the Amazon as recently as 2021, which left a dozen injured and over 70 homes in ruins. The most catastrophic in Peru’s recorded history remains the 1970 Ancash earthquake, a cataclysmic event that claimed the lives of an estimated 67,000 people.
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