Strong 6.1 quake shakes northern Peru

LIMA, Peru – A strong earthquake measuring 6.1 magnitude struck the jungle region of northern Peru on Saturday, authorities said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The epicenter was 54 kilometers (34 miles) northeast of the city of New Cajamarca, striking at a depth of 146 kilometers at 5:08 am (1008 GMT or 6:08 pm Philippine time), according to the Geophysical Institute of Peru.

“The earthquake was strong; no damage in Nueva Cajamarca has been reported,” civil defense authorities said in a statement.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) measured the earthquake at magnitude 6.0.

Nueva Cajamarca is a city of 45,000 people located on the eastern slope of the Andes, where the mountain range meets the Amazon rainforest.

Peru lies on the so-called “Ring of Fire” – an arc of fault lines that circles the Pacific Basin and is prone to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The South American country records about 200 earthquakes a year, most of them going unnoticed by the public.

The last deadly earthquake in Peru was on August 14, when a magnitude 5.3 temblor struck in the country’s south at a shallow depth of eight kilometers below the Earth’s surface.

Four people, including a US tourist, were killed. – Rappler.com