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Monday, June 25, 2001,
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47 die in Peru earthquake

Residents of the Peruvian city of Arequipa clean up debris, on Sunday, that was left after a strong earthquake struck south of Peru on Saturday.
— Reuters photo

Lima, June 24
At least 47 persons were killed and some 550 injured by a strong earthquake that rocked the Andean region early today with Peru being hit hardest by the tremor.

The US Geological Survey’s National Earthquake Information Centre (NEIC) in Golden, Colorado, said the tremor, which struck at 2.03 a.m. IST, had a magnitude of 7.9 on the Richter Scale.

Of the 47 dead, 12 were killed in Arequipa — Peru’s second-largest city — near the quake’s epicentre, which was off the Peruvian coast, some 600 km south-east of the capital Lima.

Fourteen others were killed in the Peruvian city of Moquegua, where there are a number of communities with adobe homes. Nine others were killed in the nearby town of Tacna.

“Homes are tumbling like houses of cards,” a local correspondent in Moquegua told the radio station RPP.

Peru’s President-elect Alejandro Toledo postponed a visit to the USA, France, Spain and Germany. He was to have departed today.

Children wait for medical attention in a hospital on Sunday. — Reuters photo

Instead, Mr Toledo said he would travel to Arequipa, Moquegua and the Peruvian city of Tacna.

Early footage of the earthquake’s aftermath showed that the cathedral in Arequipa — a town considered a national historical site by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) — had been severely damaged, with one of its two highly ornamented towers lost.

Meanwhile, Peruvian President Valentin Paniagua travelled to Arequipa — with his Defence, Health and Industry Ministers in tow — to assess the damage.

The quake, which lasted for more than 60 seconds in Peru and 30 to 40 seconds in Bolivia, was also felt in the Peruvian towns of Cuzco, Pisco, Puno and Mollendo.

Slight tremors could be felt in Lima, while stronger tremors were recorded in the central Bolivian town of Cochabamba and in the Chilean town of Arica, near the Peruvian border, which registered shocks between 6.0 and 7.0 on the 12 degree Mercalli scale.

There have been no immediate reports of fatalities or property damage in Bolivia.

In Chile there were reports of damage to various buildings in Arica, and residents were said to be in a state of panic, according to the National Emergency Centre (NEIC) in Santiago. AFP