Aftermath ... Quake
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By ONLINE REPORTER
August 16, 2007
COMMENT ON THIS STORY
AN EARTHQUAKE has rocked Peru killing at least 135 people and injuring over a 1300. The powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit at 11.40pm about 90 miles southeast of Lima at a depth of about 25 miles.
The tremor toppled buildings and set off landslides while four strong aftershocks ranging from magnitudes of 5.4 to 5.9 were felt afterwards.
Deputy Health Minister Carlos Vellejos called the situation “dramatic" in Ica, the city hardest hit by the quake and situated 165 miles southeast of the capital.
A witness said some homes had collapsed in the centre of Lima and that many people had fled into the streets for safety.
The capital shook for more than a minute.
“This is the strongest earthquake I’ve ever felt,” said Maria Pilar Mena, 47, a sandwich vendor in Lima.
“When the quake struck, I thought it would never end.”
President Alan Garcia ordered all police onto the streets of Lima to keep order and said he was sending the health minister and two other Cabinet members to Ica.
Garcia also said public schools would be closed today because the buildings may be unsafe.
Police reported that large boulders were shaken loose from hills and were blocking the Central Highway east of Lima.
Hundreds of workers were evacuated from office buildings after the earthquake struck.
Tremors also knocked out telephone and mobile phone service in the capital.
Experts issued a tsunami warning for the coasts of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama while a tsunami watch was issued for the rest of Central America and Mexico and an advisory for Hawaii.
The last time a powerful earthquake struck Peru was in September 2005 when a 7.5 magnitude earthquake rocked Peru’s northern jungle, killing four people.
