Earthquake struck remote northern Peru, 75 houses destroyed, no deaths reported

Nov. 28 (Reuters) – A 7.5 magnitude earthquake shook the remote Amazon region in northern Peru on Sunday and was felt as far as Lima in the center of the country, with 75 homes destroyed but no deaths reported.

The Seismological Center of the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP) said the earthquake was 131 kilometers (81 miles) deep and the epicenter was 98 kilometers from the city of Santa Maria de Nieva in Condorcanqui province.

The quake was felt all over central and northern Peru. According to local radio and television reports, some residents left their homes as a precaution.

No damage was reported on the 1,100-kilometer oil pipeline of the state-owned Petroperu, which crosses the Peruvian Amazon to the Pacific coast in the north.

The National Institute for Civil Defense (Indeci) said in a statement that 220 houses were affected, 81 uninhabitable and 75 destroyed. Seven religious places of worship and two shopping malls were among the damaged facilities, Indeci said, adding that four residents were injured.

President Pedro Castillo said on Twitter that he had ordered emergency personnel to be dispatched immediately and that he had traveled to the area on a military plane.

“We will support those affected and repair property damage,” he said.

Walter Culqui, mayor of Jalca Grande city in Chachapoyas province, said several houses had been damaged and three non-serious injuries remained. Part of the church tower in the area collapsed, he said.

Power outages have been reported in several places in jungle areas via social networks. Local television images showed stretches of road blocked by huge rocks and loosened dirt.

The US warning system announced that there was no tsunami warning after the earthquake.

Reporting by Marco Aquino in Lima and Aakriti Bhalla in Bengaluru, writing by Hugh Bronstein, editing by Catherine Evans and Mark Porter

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