Two earthquakes struck at 24km and 18km depths after the first was initially reported as magnitude 5.6
People pray next to the bodies of four victims of the earthquake of magnitude 5.6 that struck Central Peru on Saturday, in Chupuro, Peru, July 19, 2026. REUTERS
At least six people were killed and 21 injured after two earthquakes struck a mountainous region of Peru, the country’s civil defence chief said on Sunday.
The quakes, measuring magnitudes 5.1 and 3.7, hit on Saturday night in Chupaca province in the Junín region, about 300 km (186 miles) east of Lima, according to Peru’s National Seismological Centre post on X.
The first quake struck at a depth of 24 km (15 miles), and the second at 18 km, the centre said.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre earlier reported that the first earthquake had a magnitude of 5.6.
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Luis Vásquez, head of Peru’s National Civil Defence Institute, told local radio station Exitosa that preliminary reports showed about 48 homes had been destroyed and another 18 damaged, affecting around 300 people who are being provided with tents.
Homes in the affected communities in Chupaca are generally rudimentary structures built from adobe blocks.
Vásquez said emergency crews and firefighters arrived in the affected areas early on Sunday to clear debris amid concerns that additional victims could be trapped.
Peru lies along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a zone that accounts for roughly 85% of the world’s seismic activity.
