Overview
- A shallow magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck near Chongos Bajo, Chupaca, on Saturday night and produced strong local shaking and at least 12 aftershocks recorded by the Instituto Geofísico del Perú.
- Authorities have updated the toll to six dead and report dozens injured while assessments put the number of displaced or damaged families at roughly 300 to 500, with figures still provisional.
- Field teams report heavy structural loss: dozens of homes collapsed or rendered uninhabitable, nearly 50 dwellings identified as destroyed in early surveys, and damage to historic church elements including the stone 'Cani Cruz'.
- The national government has deployed police, firefighters, health brigades, military units, a mobile hospital and humanitarian aid and is preparing paperwork to declare a state of emergency to speed relief.
- IGP scientists say the quake was caused by reactivation of the Altos del Mantaro fault; officials warn that shallow depth, soft local soils and unreinforced adobe construction amplified damage and that EDAN damage evaluations will refine needs and casualty counts.