LIMA, (Reuters) – A strong earthquake struck a remote Amazon region of Peru yesterday, shaking buildings far away in the capital and in neighboring Brazil, although no injuries or damage were reported.
The 7.0-magnitude quake’s epicenter was near the town of Pucallpa, which lies some 600 km (370 miles) from Lima in a sparsely populated central-eastern region close to the Brazilian border, the U.S. Geological Survey said.“There have been no damages reported, either to structures or to people,” said Javier Urrelo, head of the government’s civil defense agency in the Ucayali region, where Pucallpa is located.
Energy companies in the area, which produces some oil and natural gas, said their facilities were operating normally.
It was the most powerful earthquake to hit the Andean country since a 7.9-magnitude temblor killed more than 500 people and destroyed thousands of houses in 2007.
One seismologist said the depth of Wednesday’s quake — 145 km (90 miles) — meant damage was unlikely.
Across the nearby border in the Brazilian city of Cruzeiro do Sul, journalist Nelson Liano was in a supermarket at the time of the quake and said some goods fell off the shelves. “It was that sensation when you’re on a boat and it rocks,” he told Reuters.
In Peru’s coastal capital of Lima, office buildings shook and mobile phone services were interrupted.
