Authorities in Peru confirmed Sunday that a 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck the country’s Andes region, leaving at least five people dead, more than 20 injured, and approximately 300 displaced from their homes.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake hit Saturday evening at 9:24 p.m. The epicenter was pinpointed roughly 2 kilometers — about 1.24 miles — west-southwest of the city of Sicaya in Huancayo province, at a depth of 10 kilometers, or about 6.21 miles.
Peru’s National Civil Defense Institute issued a statement noting that the full count of missing persons has yet to be determined. A number of buildings were either destroyed or significantly damaged in the quake, among them a local church and convent.
Luis Vásquez, who heads the local civil defense office, spoke to reporters about the widespread destruction, saying that the use of rustic adobe materials in construction in that Andean area “has contributed to the greater impact and damage.”
One of the most severely affected areas was Chongo Bajo, an agricultural community where video footage aired by local media showed distressed family members of victims gathering outside badly damaged homes, wrapped in blankets. Animals were also found trapped beneath rubble.
Hermenegilda Guamalato, a resident who was searching for shelter with her three children in the neighboring province of Huayucachi, spoke to a local radio station about her situation. “My home has been destroyed,” she said.
Peru sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” making earthquakes a regular occurrence in the country. In 2007, a far more powerful magnitude 7.9 quake devastated the province of Pisco in the Ica region, resulting in nearly 600 deaths.
