Moyobamba, Nov. 29 (BNA) 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, destroying 75 homes, but no deaths were reported.
The seismological center of the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP) said the quake was at a depth of 131 kilometers (81 miles) and that the epicenter was 98 kilometers from the town of Santa Maria de Neiva in the province of Condorcanque.
The earthquake was felt throughout central and northern Peru. Local radio and television reports said some residents had left their homes as a precaution.
No damage has been reported to the 1,100-kilometre oil pipeline of state-owned Petroperu that crosses the Amazon region of Peru to the Pacific coast in the north.
The National Institute of Civil Defense (INDISI) said in a statement that 220 homes were damaged, 81 uninhabitable and 75 destroyed. Among the damaged facilities were seven places of worship and two shopping centers, Indesi said, adding that four residents were infected, according to Reuters.
President Pedro Castillo said via Twitter that he had ordered the immediate deployment of support personnel and had flown a military aircraft to the area.
“We will support those affected and address the material damage,” he said.
Many homes were damaged, leaving three non-serious injuries, said Walter Kolke, mayor of Galca Grande in the province of Chichapoyas. He said that part of the church tower in the area collapsed.
Through social networks, power outages were reported in several locations in the bush areas. Local television footage showed sections of the roads blocked by huge boulders and fallen dirt.
The US alert system said there was no tsunami warning after the quake.
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