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26 killed by rains in Peru, 38,000 affected

Xinhua

The current rain season in Peru has killed 26 people and affected another 38,000, the Peruvian National Institute of Civil Defense said on Tuesday in a report.

The report said seven people died in January, six in February and 13 in March in large part of the country.

The rains damaged more than 14,000 meters of highways and 1,439hectares of harvests.

Also 47 schools were affected, 10 health centers, five churches, 29 locals, 14 bridges and 356 meters of irrigation canals, also 717 animals died and other 370 were affected.

Since Oct. 1, 2008, 19 Peruvian departments have been affected by the strong rains and winds, which produced landslides, blockages in roads, harvests destruction and flooding.

The economic losses have not been quantified, however they are estimated to surpass the 50 million U.S. dollars.

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Landslide buries Peru village, 13 dead, 30 missing

AFP

At least 13 people were killed and more than 30 others were missing after a landslide buried a remote Peruvian mining village on Monday, government officials said.

"Seven people are buried and 13 have been confirmed dead" said Miguel Angel Sotomayor, the governor of the Ituata district, where the accident occurred.

The landslide took place early on Monday morning and was caused by heavy rain, officials said.

Sotomayor indicated site's remoteness may hamper the rescue effort.

"It is a very isolated area, there is no road to it," he said.

"We have to leave for there tonight so that we can arrive by tomorrow morning and survey the area," he told CPN, a local radio station, "because there is no road, we cannot count on the help of machinery."

The slide began between 6:00 and 7:00 am (1100 and 1200 GMT) and covered Huanchumay, a village located in a remote part of Carabaya province, about 1,300 kilometers (808 miles) southeast of the capital Lima.

It "has buried everything in its path" according to Carlos Martin, manager and legal adviser of the Huanchumay mine.

"There is no shelter. The whole town is covered with rocks," he told a local radio station.

Carabaya official Nancy Rossell, who was in Lima, told AFP she would ask the interior ministry to coordinate preliminary rescue efforts and to send a helicopter to the location of the accident, which is not accessible by road.

The village has only a small population of about 50 people, most of them miners.

Civil defense workers had previously placed the number of dead at 10.

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Heavy rainfall in Peru costs teenage girl her life

Living in Peru
Israel Ruiz

As the rainy season continues to get stronger in some of Peru's regions, more people are losing their lives because of flooding, landslides and mudslides.

Attempting to cross a river that was larger than usual because of heavy rainfall, a 15-year-old girl lost her life after she was dragged by its current.

It was reported that she was in the Limean district of Chosica, just 47 kilometers (29 miles) east of metropolitan Lima.

Even though police did not arrive in time to help the teenager, they were able to retrieve her body from an islet on the Rimac River.

Despite precautions taken by police, one of the officers had to be rescued himself after losing his balance and being knocked down by the strong current.

Furthermore, houses in the areas of Pedregal, Quirio and La Libertad are waterlogged. Aside from the loss of homes because of landslides, town streets have been completely flooded and highways are blocked.

Authorities have placed the district of Chosica on alert until the torrential rain stops and it is verified that waterlogged homes will not be a danger to their inhabitants.

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Strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake near coast of Peru

Channel News Asia

A strong 6.2-magnitude earthquake shook an area near the northern coast of Peru early Sunday, the US government reported.

The epicentre of the earthquake, which occurred at 5:04 am (1004 GMT), was located in the Pacific Ocean 71 kilometres (44 miles) southwest of the Peruvian town of Piura, according to the US Geological Survey.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The reading was based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released.

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Strong quake rocks northern Peru

Agence France-Presse

A strong 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck just off the coast of northern Peru Monday, the US Geological Survey reported.

The quake, which shook the South American country at 1409 GMT, was centered 124 kilometers (77 miles) northwest of the city of Chiclayo, and 138 kilometers (86 miles) south of Piura, the USGS said.

The epicenter was at a depth of 35 kilometers (22 miles), according to the USGS.

There were no immediate reports of any casualties or major damage.

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Peru hit by moderate quake, no damage reported

Reuters

A moderate earthquake struck the coast of central Peru on Monday and shook buildings in the capital of Lima, but there were no immediate reports of damages or injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially said a 5.8 magnitude quake hit near the town of Chincha Alta, and later downgraded it to 5.5 magnitude. It struck at 1753 GMT about 110 miles (177 km) south south-east of Lima.

Startled residents fled from their homes in towns along the central coast, according to local radio.

A massive 8.1 magnitude quake hit the same region on Aug. 15, 2007, killing hundreds of people.

Peru, a major global minerals exporter, has dozens of large mines. But the biggest mine in the region of the temblor, Cerro Lindo, was not damaged, according to its owner, Peruvian miner Milpo (MIL.LM).

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Peru could see strong earthquake due to accumulated energy

Living in Peru
Israel Ruiz

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Prefabricated homes given to victims in Pisco after a magnitude-8 earthquake leveled a great deal of the city.

© ANDINA

133 earthquakes were registered in Peru throughout 2008, reported expert Hernando Tavera, explaining that this figure was less than the 191 earthquakes registered in 2007.

After reporting this data, the head of seismology for Peru's Geophysical Institute expressed his concern that accumulated energy in southern Peru and northern Chile could be released at any moment in the form of a much more destructive earthquake.

"It's difficult to predict the nature of seismic movement," said Tavera, explaining that the fact that there had been fewer earthquakes in 2008 did not mean a natural disaster would not take place in the region.

He affirmed that natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanoes were something Latin America had to deal with and be prepared for. "Prevention has a lot to do with educating (people). The media should remind the population that Peru is located in a highly seismic area."

Tavera explained that while Peru and Chile had to deal with earthquakes, Ecuador had to prepare for volcanic activity and Argentina and Bolivia had to manage their geological defects. The expert affirmed that the best way Peru could deal with its reality was to prepare for strong quakes.

According to Victor Aguilar, a scientist for the National University of Arequipa, the areas that were most at risk of being affected by this powerful release of energy were a 650-kilometer stretch in southern Peru and a 500-kilometer one in northern Chile.

"Peruvians quickly forget what has happened," said Tavera when asked about the earthquake that left almost half a million people homeless in 2007. He explained that little had been done to prepare for future earthquakes of the same magnitude.

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Peru: No damage reported after Lima - Callao earthquake

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

Peru's national civil defense institute (INDECI) confirmed on Saturday evening that the magnitude-4.3 earthquake that struck off Peru's coast did not cause any injuries or damage to buildings.

Nevertheless, INDECI affirmed it was monitoring certain areas in the city to make sure citizens did not require any assistance.

"Through the National Emergencies Operation Center, INDECI, in coordination with Civil Defense Committees is monitoring areas to address any emergency," affirmed the agency in a press release.

It added that it was on alert to help anyone that may need assistance because of a natural disaster or any other emergency.

While the U.S. Geological Survey reported that a 4.5 earthquake struck 43 kilometers (27 miles) southwest of the port of Callao, Peru's state Geophysics Institute said it was a magnitude-4.3.

The earthquake startled citizens across Lima as shaking began at 3:40 p.m.

While the capital's communications system did not collapse as it did after the August 15 earthquake, it was reported that cellular phone lines were down between 5 and 10 minutes.

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Earthquake startles Lima, Pisco and Chincha residents

Living in Peru
Israel J. Ruiz

A strong tremor shook Lima on Saturday afternoon, startling residents throughout the city.

Surprised by the noise caused by the shaking many opted to dart out of their homes seeking open areas away from buildings and houses.

Local media reported that the tremor took place at 3:40 p.m. (local time) and that there was not a collapse in communications.

It was noted that one of the biggest problems during the August 2007 earthquake was a lack of cellular phone and land line communications.

There are currently no reports of injuries or structural damage to the city.

Correspondents in Pisco and Chincha affirmed the shaking was felt in these cities as well.

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Peru's prime minister inspects reconstruction of quake-affected areas

Peru's prime minister Yehude Simon traveled Monday morning to quake-affected Chincha and Ica provinces to inspect reconstruction work being carried out after last year's powerful earthquake.

Premier Yehude Simon Munaro arrived in Ica accompanied by ministers Carlos Leyton Muñoz (Agriculture), Enrique Cornejo (Housing) and Jose Antonio Chang (Education).

The government authorities were received by Ica’s regional governor, Rómulo Triveño Pinto.

In the afternoon, the head of the cabinet will head back to Lima to hold a meeting with regional governors at the headquarters of Peru's Presidency of Council of Ministers.

The meeting is scheduled at 16:00 hours (21:00 GMT), according to the ministerial agenda.

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