An official from Peru’s Chincha province, 200 kms south of Lima in the Ica region, say that about 15% of the 30,000 houses damaged in the massive earthquake in 2007 have been reconstructed.
“On the topic of housing, we have a very high deficit pending,” state news agency Andina reported Chincha Mayor Lucio Juarez as saying. “It creates a terrible feeling to see so many families living with a house facade but with nothing behind it. They don’t get rid of the front because it is the only thing that protects them.”
Almost four years ago, on August 15, 2007, Ica was hit by a magnitude-8 earthquake that caused serious damages, killed hundreds and left thousands more homeless. The earthquake lasted 2 minutes and 55 seconds.
The administration at the time, under ex-President Alan Garcia, was criticized for not doing enough to rebuild the southern region.
President Ollanta Humala, who took office on July 28, has said he plans to help rebuild Ica. Humala’s defense minister, Daniel Mora, said this week that the Armed Forces are prepared to begin work on reconstructing cities in the south
Lucio said that the situation in Chincha, a province of about 200,000 people, is “urgent.”
“The Civil Defense and the National Statistics and Information Bureau [INEI] have proved that Chincha is the most affected by the earthquake,” he said. “There is a lot to do, specifically in housing, and it is an urgent issue.”
California has developed a type of shock absorber required on all public buildings which minimize damage on 6-7 rickter scale quakes. Not much can be done for greater quakes. Better building codes would improve infrastructure survival and protect lives.