Overview
- A shallow mainshock struck near Sicaya/Chupaca in Peru’s Junín region at about 9:24 p.m. local time on Saturday night, followed minutes later by a smaller aftershock according to seismological agencies.
- Officials have confirmed at least five deaths and more than 20 injuries while preliminary damage assessments show roughly 48 homes destroyed, 18 damaged and about 300 people displaced.
- Many of the hardest-hit houses were built from traditional adobe and other rustic materials, which local authorities say worsened collapses and concentrated damage in small mountain communities.
- Hundreds of emergency personnel including police, firefighters, army units, K-9 teams and medical brigades are conducting search-and-rescue, clearing debris and operating temporary shelters as structural inspections continue.
- Rescue and relief operations remain active and officials warn casualty and damage totals may change as engineers finish safety checks and crews complete searches; Peru’s position on the Pacific Ring of Fire makes frequent shallow quakes a recurring local risk.