At least nine people including an American tourist have died following an Earthquake in Arequipa Province in southern Peru on Saturday 14 August 2016. The United States Geological Survey
recorded the quake as having a Magnitude of 5.4 and occuring at a depth of 10 km, slightly before 10.00 pm local
time (slightly after 3.00 am GMT on Sunday 15 August 2016.The fatalities occured in the Colca Canyon area to the northwest of Arequipa, where about 380 buildings are reported to have collapsed, with over 1000 more being considered uninhabitable due to damage.
Damage following the 14 August 2016 Arequipa Earthquake. The Waether Channel/Instagram.
Peru is on the west coast of South America and the western margin of the
South American Plate, close to where the Nazca Plate, which underlies
part of the east Pacific, is being subducted along the Peru-Chile
Trench. The Nazca Plate passes under the South American Plate as it
sinks into the Earth, this is not a smooth process and the plates
repeatedly stick together then break apart as the pressure builds up,
causing Earthquakes. As the Nazca Plate sinks further it is partially
melted by the friction and the heat of the Earth's interior. Some of
this melted material then rises through the overlying South American
Plate, fuelling the volcanoes of Peru and neighbouring countries.
The subduction of the Nazca Plate beneath the South American Plate, and how it causes Earthquakes and volcanoes. Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center.
Witness
accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events,
and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit
organization Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.
The approximate location of the 14 August 2016 Arequipa Earthquake. Google.
See also...
Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake off the Peruvian Coast. The United States Geological Survey
recorded a Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, off the coast
of Ica Province in southern Peru, slightly after 2.00 pm local
time (slightly after 7.00 pm GMT)..
Seven confirmed deaths after Peruvian landslide. Seven people have been confirmed dead and six are still missing after a
massive landslide hit the town of Chosica in Lima Province, Peru, on
Tuesday 24...
Three people have been killed by a landslide close to the town of Bagua in Chachapoyas Province on...
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