Northern Peru rocked by 8-magnitude earthquake

An 8.0-magnitude earthquake struck northern Peru early on Sunday at a depth of just over 100 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey. The quake struck 180 kilometers west of Moyobamba, and no injuries have yet been reported. The powerful quake was reportedly felt as far away as  Bogota, Colombia. The tremors were left at 07:41 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). The quake, at a moderate depth of 114 kilometers struck 80 km southeast of the village of Lagunas and 158 km east-northeast of the larger town of Yurimaguas.

The Peruvian government’s emergency department tweeted that it registered a magnitude of 7.2 for the quake. In the capital, Lima, people ran out of their homes in fear. Power cuts were reported in a number of Amazonian cities, reported by news agency AP.

In February, an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 hit Ecuador on Friday. The quake struck 17 kilometres from the town of Montalvo in eastern Ecuador near the border with Peru. It hit at a depth of 132 kilometres. It was followed by a 5.5-magnitude earthquake that occurred less than 25 minutes later in western Ecuador, near the city of Guayaquil.