Magnitude 3.6 earthquake shakes Callao and Lima

An earthquake of magnitude 3.6 was recorded this Monday, March 20 in the city of the constitutional province of Callao in the province of Callao in the department of Lima, reported the National Seismological Center (Censis) of the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP).

The telluric movement began at 10:37 p.m. (local time) and originated 78 kilometers west of the constitutional province of Callao with a depth of 35 kilometers, an intensity of II and latitude and longitude of -12.22, -77.84 degrees. Due to its magnitude, the alert range issued was green, the National Seismic Network said in a report.

The green color range is used for earthquakes of magnitudes less than 4.4; yellow is assigned to movements that vary in amplitude between 4.5 and 6.0; while with the color red earthquakes are designated greater than 6.1.

As for intensitythe scales indicate the following:

I: it’s a movement “not felt” it doesn’t mean “no harm”.

II-III: it’s a movement “weak” it doesn’t mean “no harm”.

IV: It’s a movement “light” it doesn’t mean “no harm”.

V: it’s a movement “moderate” which represents “very little harm”.

VI: it’s a movement “strong” which represents “little harm”.

VII: it’s a movement “very strong” which implies “moderate damage”.

VIII: It’s a movement “severe” which implies “moderate or significant damage”.

IX: it’s a movement “violent” which implies “a lot of damage”.

X+: It’s a move “extreme” causing “significant damage”.

The CENSIS of the GPI obtains its data from National Seismic Networkformed and integrated by a series of speed, acceleration and displacement sensors distributed throughout the country.

Peru is located in the area known as the Pacific Ring of Firea region that concentrates 75% of the volcanoes that exist in the world and where approximately the 80% of the strongest tremors of the world.

Also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is made up of the mountainous area of ​​western Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico, United States. and Canada, then rounding up the Aleutian Islands and down the coasts and islands of Russia, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, East Timor, Brunei, Singapore, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and New Zealand.

In the case of Peru, the country is in the The South American tectonic plate collides head-on with the Nazca Plate, when they are in friction, they generate tensions, which are released in the form of earthquakes; In addition, the region has constant volcanic activity.

The Ring of Fire stretches for 40,000 kilometers and has the shape of a horseshoe, in addition, in this line there are 452 volcanoes and it is home to most of the so-called “supervolcanoes”, whose eruptions are at VEI-8 levels, classified as catastrophic.

The South American nation has had to deal with various seismic events that have caused hundreds of deaths, injuries and countless material damages. Here is a list of the most relevant.

May 31, 1970

The magnitude 7.9 earthquake originated in the department of Áncash, followed by a flood that buried the city of Santo Domingo de Yungay at 3:23 p.m.

Thereby It is considered the most destructive earthquake in the country’s history.not only because of the scale, but also because of the number of deaths it caused, estimated at 67,000according to the document “The Ancash earthquake and the avalanche of Nevado Huascaran”, written by the geophysicist and scientific adviser of the National Institute of Civil Defense (Indeci), Mateo Casaverde, when there was also 150,000 wounded, affecting the departments of Huácamo, Lima and La Libertad in the same way.

Because of this disaster, the Peruvian government founded the National Civil Defense Institute in 1972, responsible for developing plans to deal with this type of accident and preparing national exercises every May 31.

October 3, 1974

And earthquake of magnitude 8.0 It occurred in the capital, Lima, at 9:21 a.m., a movement that was also felt on the Peruvian coast to the south. The movement lasted about 90 seconds and left 252 dead and 3,600 injured.

May 29, 1990

Another 6.4 earthquake left 77 dead, 1,680 injured, 58,835 homeless and 11,000 houses destroyed. The movement, which began at 9:34 a.m., affected the cities of San Martín, Amazonas, Cajamarca, Rioja, Moyobamba, Chachapoyas, Jaén and Bagua.

June 23, 2001

A 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit southern Peru in the regions of Moquegua, Tacna and Arequipa, leaving 74 dead, 2,689 injured, more than 21,000 homeless, 64 missing, 35,601 houses affected, of which 17,584 destroyed.

The earthquake had several aftershocks and had an intensity of VIII, which generated a tsunami which also caused 26 other deaths. It was the most devastating earthquake after the 1970 Ancash quake and the largest in the world after the Rat Islands.

August 15, 2007

Peru was badly damaged by one of the strongest earthquakes in its modern history. Occurred at 6:40 p.m., the Pisco earthquake of magnitude 8 had a duration of 3 minutes 50 seconds. It was one of the strongest earthquakes to occur in Peru in recent years, surpassed by the Arequipa earthquake of 2001. This fact left 596 people died.

May 26, 2019

One of the last earthquakes recorded in Peru is the one known as the “Loreto earthquake”, which had a magnitude of 8 and originated at 02:41 local time and consequently left one dead and more than 2,500 people affected.