A moderate earthquake shook the southern Peruvian department of Ica Thursday night, causing panic in the city of Pisco, but no reported casualties or damage.
According to state news agency Andina, the magnitude 4.3 quake struck at 19:12 local time, and its epicenter was located approximately 62 kilometers southeast of Pisco.
On Aug. 15, 2007, an earthquake ravaged Peru’s southern coast. When it hit, the magnitude-8 earthquake lasted more than two minutes, leaving the region in ruins, cutting off electricity, water and communications. In Pisco, the quake destroyed three-quarters of the city center, killed approximately 500 people and left thousands more homeless. According to official figures, some 40,000 homes were destroyed.
The Andean country’s deadliest natural disaster occurred in 1970, when a 7.9 magnitude earthquake triggered a landslide which buried the highland town of Yungay and killed 66,000 people.
