Earthquake of 7 magnitude caused panic in Peru

A magnitude 7 earthquake struck early today in the Andean region of southeastern Peru, near the border with Bolivia, with no immediate losses or damage reported, geological services reported.

The earthquake was recorded at 3:50 am local time, with an epicenter located 8 km northeast of the Azángaro municipality, located north of Lake Titicaca, near the border with Bolivia, announced the 39; Geophysical Institute of Peru.

"The earthquake was felt in the southern regions of Cusco, Arequipa, Tacna and Moquegua," said the website of Lima newspaper El Comercio. No earthquakes or injuries have been reported in a sparsely populated mountain area.

Azángaro is located 1,270 km southeast of Lima.

The epicenter of the earthquake was located at a depth of 257 km, said the US Geological Survey (USGS), which explained that most major earthquakes in South America usually occur at a depth of 70 km or less .

The earthquake also affected neighboring regions of Chile, such as Arica and Parinacota, where authorities initially ordered preventive evacuation due to the threat of a tsunami.

But soon after, it was disabled because "the characteristics of the earthquake do not fulfill the conditions necessary for the occurrence of a tsunami," said the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Chilean Navy.

On February 22, another magnitude 7.5 earthquake, with an epicenter in neighboring Ecuador, rocked the coast and the Amazon rainforest in the far north of Peru. He left nine injured and damaged in Ecuador, but did not wreak havoc in Peru.

Peru is located in a seismic region of America and on January 14, 2018, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake killed two people and demolished houses on the coast of Arequipa, 1,000 km south of Lima.

On January 24, another magnitude 6.0 earthquake that rocked Peru's central coast caused minor damage and injured six people near Nazca Centennial lines.