Peru Andes Earthquake Kills at Least 5, Displaces Hundreds

A strong earthquake shook Peru’s Andes overnight, killing at least five people and forcing hundreds from their homes after houses, a church and other structures gave way. Officials warned Sunday that an undetermined number of residents were still unaccounted for.

The 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit just after 9:20 p.m. Saturday near Sicaya, a city in central Peru, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Peru’s National Civil Defense Institute said more than 20 people were injured and at least 300 residents were displaced by the quake.

Rescue and civil defense teams continued searching Sunday as authorities worked to locate missing people and assess buildings that had collapsed or were considered too dangerous to enter, including a local church and convent.

Local officials said the heavy damage was likely intensified by the region’s reliance on traditional adobe buildings, which are especially vulnerable during earthquakes. Luis Vásquez, who leads the local civil defense office, said the rustic construction materials “contributed to the greater impact and damage.”

In the farming community of Chongo Bajo, among the areas hardest hit, images showed families huddled in blankets outside cracked and crumbled homes while neighbors searched through piles of debris. Animals were also seen pinned beneath fallen structures.

“My home has been destroyed,” resident Hermenegilda Guamalato told local radio as she sought shelter with her three children in the nearby province of Huayucachi.

Peru sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” one of the world’s most active earthquake zones. In 2007, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the coastal province of Pisco, killing nearly 600 people.