earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
struck northern
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
on November 28, 2021 05:52 a.m. local time with a magnitude of 7.5 on the
moment magnitude scale
The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
. Preliminary intensities were said to be as high as VII (''Very Strong'') in the town of Santa Maria de Nieva according to the Geological Institute of Peru, however the
United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...
ShakeMap concluded that the earthquake had an intensity of VIII (''Severe'') on the
Modified Mercalli intensity scale
The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the eff ...
.
Serious damage occurred, in Peru, and some damage was reported in Ecuador. One person died of a heart attack, another from falling wood, and 126 others were injured. Ten additional deaths occurred the following day when a bus crashed on the damaged Fernando Belaunde Terry highway,
Tectonic setting
Peru lies above the
convergent plate boundary
A convergent boundary (also known as a destructive boundary) is an area on Earth where two or more lithospheric plates collide. One plate eventually slides beneath the other, a process known as subduction. The subduction zone can be defined by a ...
where the
Nazca Plate
The Nazca Plate or Nasca Plate, named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America. The ongoing subduction, along the Peru–Chile Trench, of the Na ...
is
subducting
Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, the ...
beneath the
South American Plate
The South American Plate is a major tectonic plate which includes the continent of South America as well as a sizable region of the Atlantic Ocean seabed extending eastward to the African Plate, with which it forms the southern part of the Mid-A ...
, along the line of the
Peru–Chile Trench
The Peru–Chile Trench, also known as the Atacama Trench, is an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about off the coast of Peru and Chile. It reaches a maximum depth of below sea level in Richards Deep () and is approximately long; ...
. In northern Peru the rate of convergence between the plates is about 70 mm/yr. Almost all of the seismicity that affects western South America is a result of this ongoing subduction, either directly or indirectly. Earthquakes occur on the megathrust interface between the two plates, or within either the subducting or over-riding plates. At this latitude, the Nazca plate is seismically active to depths of about 650 km. This earthquake occurred in a segment of the subducted
plate
Plate may refer to:
Cooking
* Plate (dishware), a broad, mainly flat vessel commonly used to serve food
* Plates, tableware, dishes or dishware used for setting a table, serving food and dining
* Plate, the content of such a plate (for example: ...
that has produced frequent intermediate-depth earthquakes with focal depths of 100 to 150 km, such as the
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
The earthquake had a preliminary magnitudes of 7.3−7.4 however upgraded to 7.5 by the United States Geological Survey. The hypocentral depth was at 112.5 km thus limiting the intensities reported to VIII (''Severe''). Despite that, the earthquake was strongly felt as far as Northern Colombia. The shock was a result of
normal fault
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
ing within the descending Nazca Plate, according to the Geophysics Institute of Peru and U.S. Geological Survey. Two similarly-sized normal-faulting earthquakes struck the Peruvian Amazon in 2005 and 2019. The 2019 earthquake was located in the same department and measured 8.0 magnitude, killing at least two people. Such earthquakes are known as intermediate-depth events due to their
depth of focus
Depth of focus is a lens optics concept that measures the tolerance of placement of the image plane (the film plane in a camera) in relation to the lens. In a camera, depth of focus indicates the tolerance of the film's displacement within the ca ...
. Earthquakes of these types occur within the subducted slab rather than at the plate boundary, known as
intraslab earthquake
The term intraplate earthquake refers to a variety of earthquake that occurs ''within the interior'' of a tectonic plate; this stands in contrast to an interplate earthquake, which occurs ''at the boundary'' of a tectonic plate. Intraplate earth ...
s.
Earlier in that day,
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
was struck by a magnitude 5.1 quake offshore at 64.5 km depth. That event occurred due to convergence along the Peru-Chile subduction zone at the plate boundary, hence are unrelated.
Impact
A total of 2,202 people became homeless when the quake damaged many homes. Some 4,429 homes were damaged, including 1,976 totally destroyed. Seven churches also collapsed. The National Institute of Civil Defense of Peru confirmed one fatality and at least 126 injuries. The fatality was caused by a heart attack. A second fatality was reported on 29 November. The three-year-old child was killed by falling wood in
Bongará Province
Bongará is a province of the Amazonas Region, Peru. It borders by the north with Condorcanqui Province, by the East with the San Martín Region and Loreto Region, by the south with Chachapoyas Province and by the west with the provinces of Luy ...
. An elderly person is also missing.
In the
Valera District
Valera is a district of Bongará Province, in the Department of Amazonas, Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, oth ...
, at least 30 residents were affected. Another 12 people became homeless in the
Cajaruro District
Cajaruro District is one of seven districts of the province Utcubamba in Peru. Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática
The Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI) ("National Institute of Statistics and Informatics" ...
Chachapoyas Province
Chachapoyas is a province of the Amazonas Region, Peru. The province of Chachapoyas was a part of the department of Trujillo (according to the supreme decree of February 12, 1821) being its capital the city of Chachapoyas.
After the departme ...
s, 35 people were affected. The
Fernando Belaúnde
Fernando Sergio Marcelo Marcos Belaúnde Terry (October 7, 1912 – June 4, 2002) was a Peruvian politician who twice served as President of Peru (1963–1968 and 1980–1985). Deposed by a military coup in 1968, he was re-elected i ...
Terry highway was partially buried by a landslide. Three people were injured in the La Jalca District, and 70% of the homes were damaged, according to the district's mayor. Many of the homes damaged were constructed of mud and stone. Thirteen schools in the Amazonas, Loreto, and Piura departments were damaged. Many of the schools suffered cracks and collapsed walls. Doors and windows were knocked down. Cracks in the ceiling and floor were also reported.
A 14 meter (46 ft) tower in a protected four-century-old church collapsed shortly after the earthquake, according to local media and witness accounts. Video footage showed the historic tower, part of a 16th-century complex that was considered the oldest Catholic temple in the
Amazonas region
Amazonas () is a department and region in northern Peru bordered by Ecuador on the north and west, Cajamarca on the west, La Libertad on the south, and Loreto and San Martín on the east. Its capital is the city of Chachapoyas.
With a lands ...
, reduced to a pile of stones, although the main atrium appeared to be still standing. Several buildings, including another church were damaged in neighbouring Ecuador.
Ecuadorian authorities reported some buildings were damaged in the
Saraguro Canton
Saraguro (also Sarakuru) is a cantons of Ecuador, canton of Ecuador, located in Loja Province. Its capital is the town of Saraguro. The area of the canton is . The capital of the canton is the parish and town of Saraguro.
Demographics
The populat ...
of
Loja Province
Loja Province () is one of 24 provinces in Ecuador and shares its southern border on the west with El Oro Province, on the north with El Azuay, and on the east with Zamora-Chinchipe. Founded on its present site in 1548 by Captain Alonso de Mer ...
. Collapsed masonry, a church, and one house was documented. A house and education facility also collapsed in Centinela del Cóndor Canton. In the
Chordeleg Canton
Chordeleg Canton () is a canton of Ecuador, located in the Azuay Province. Its capital is the town of Chordeleg. Its population at the 2001 census was 10,859.
Demographics
Ethnic groups as of the Ecuadorian census of 2010:
*Mestizo 93.8%
*Whit ...
, an old concrete building was destroyed. Road damage was reported in
Cuenca Canton
Cuenca is a canton of Ecuador, located in the Azuay Province. Its capital is the town of Cuenca. During the census of 2001 the canton had 417,632 inhabitants and in 2010 it had 505,585 inhabitants.
On the Fernando Belaunde Terry highway near the epicenter, ten people died and seven were injured when a minibus drove off a cliff and plunged 300 meters down a
valley
A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...
. The accident occurred in
Bongará Province
Bongará is a province of the Amazonas Region, Peru. It borders by the north with Condorcanqui Province, by the East with the San Martín Region and Loreto Region, by the south with Chachapoyas Province and by the west with the provinces of Luy ...
Moyobamba
Moyobamba () or Muyupampa ( Quechua ''muyu'' circle, ''pampa'' large plain, "circle plain") is the capital city of the San Martín Region in northern Peru. Called "Santiago of eight valleys of Moyobamba" or "Maynas capital". There are 50,073 inha ...
along the highway.
Response
The
Prime Minister of Peru
The president of the Council of Ministers of Peru ( es, link=no, presidente del Consejo de Ministros del Perú), informally called Premier (form of address) or Prime Minister, is the head of the cabinet as the most senior member of the Council ...
,
Mirtha Vásquez
Mirtha Esther Vásquez Chuquilín (born 31 March 1975) is a Peruvian attorney and politician who served as prime minister of Peru from 6 October 2021 to 31 January 2022. Previously, she briefly served in Congress for the complementary term bet ...
, announced that her
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
is considering declaring a state of emergency in some of the affected regions. President
Pedro Castillo
José Pedro Castillo Terrones (; born 19 October 1969) is a Peruvian politician, former elementary school teacher, and union leader who served as the president of Peru, President of Peru from 28 July 2021 to 7 December 2022. On 7 December 2022, ...
immediately visited the affected area in the aftermath.
A village near the
Utcubamba River
Utcubamba (hispanicized spelling) or Utkhupampa (Quechua ''utkhu'' cotton, ''pampa'' a large plain,Diccionario Quechua - Español - Quechua, Academía Mayor de la Lengua Quechua, Gobierno Regional Cusco, Cusco 2005 (Quechua_Spanish dictionary) "co ...
has been evacuated after an overflowing risk was found. The water level in the river rose higher after a landslide dammed the river channel.
See also
*
List of earthquakes in 2021
{{Infobox earthquakes in year, year=2021, 9.0+=0, 4.0–4.9=14,643, 5.0–5.9=2,046, 6.0–6.9=141, 7.0–7.9=16, 8.0–8.9=3, strongest=8.2 {{M, w, link=y {{flagicon, United StatesUnited States, deadliest={{nowrap, 7.2 Mw {{flagicon, Haiti Haiti ...
*
List of earthquakes in Peru
Earthquakes in Peru are common occurrences as the country is located in a seismic zone. The interface between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates is located near the Peruvian coast. The South American Plate is moving over the Nazca Plate ...