An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale shook Peru and occurred in Colombia

An earthquake of magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale shook in the early hours of this Sunday the Peruvian Amazon, where people took to the streets, alarmed locals from Lima and also felt in Colombia, until now no reported material casualties or material damages.

The National Center for Emergency Operations (COEN) Peru reported that minor property damage had been recorded, such as the collapse of some walls and power cuts.

At first it was reported that the quake had reached a magnitude of 7.2, but the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP) has revised this figure, reported the agency EFE.

The earthquake occurred at 2:41 am local time and its epicenter was located in a sparsely populated area of ​​the Peruvian Amazon, about 70 kilometers southeast of the city of Lagunas, in the Loreto region, in Alto Amazonas, in the heart of the jungle. tropical

The telluric movement began at a depth of 141 km below the surface of the Earth and was perceived with a high intensity in the municipality of Lagunas.

The quake was also felt in Lima, located about 700 kilometers south of the epicenter, with moderate intensity but a long duration of about a minute.

The wobbling and growing shaking of the crystals made the alarmed Limaan leave their beds, fearing that the intensity will increase over the seconds.

There was fear among Peruvian citizens, especially in the regions and cities closest to the epicenter, such as Yurimaguas, San Martin, Amazonas and Loreto, where the population took to the streets and remained there. afraid to reproduce.

At 5:41, reported the IGP, another magnitude 4.9 earthquake 7 km southwest of Castrovirreyna was felt, at a depth of 108 km, reported the entity on Twitter.

"The strong earthquake this morning has been felt in many parts of the country, we are badessing the affected areas, we are asking all our citizens to stay calm, the @COENPeru is monitoring and badessing the situation," said the Peruvian President, Martín Vizcarra. on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the Colombian geological service announced in a preliminary bulletin that tremors had been felt intensely in most of Colombia.

In Bogota and other parts of Colombia, emergency sirens were activated and hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes, mainly in high buildings in the capital, Cali, Manizales and Popayán. They invaded the streets at dawn, as a precaution.

The National Disaster Risk Management Unit (UNGRD) reported on Twitter that the earthquake was felt "in many parts of Colombia, it is swept away by entities located in areas where it was felt".

The earthquakes that occur in the Amazon, which occupies nearly 60% of the territory of Peru, tend to occur at great depth, which reduces the destructive power but expands the seismic wave, can reach thousands of kilometers .

Peru is located in the area of ​​the Pacific Ring of Fire, where 85% of the world's seismic activity is produced.