Earthquake in Peru destroys homes, kills man

LIMA, PERU — A powerful earthquake struck off Peru’s coast early Sunday, tumbling adobe homes in small, rural towns, killing at least one person and leaving dozens injured, officials said.

The earthquake destroyed 63 homes, displacing about 130 people, and it injured 65 people, Peru’s Chief of Civil Defence Jorge Chavez said.

The sole fatality was man killed when he was crushed by a fallen rock, said officials, adding that many of those injured were in Chala district, a coastal area dependent on fishing and mining that is popular with tourists.

Emergency crews responded by sending tents and mattresses to the displaced families, officials said.

“Everything that is needed is going to be sent,” Peru’s President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said. “We are already responding at full speed.”

The U.S. Geological Survey said the early morning quake had a magnitude of 7.1 and was centred 40 kilometres from Acari in the Arequipa department of southwestern Peru.

The quake jolted people awake as far away as Lima, the capital, some 550 kilometres from Acari, blocked some roads, collapsed adobe homes in several towns and left at least one supermarket a jumble of fallen crackers boxes and soda bottles.

Workers used large tractors to clear away boulders and debris that crashed onto roads.

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned of that hazardous waves could hit Peru and Chile, but later stated there was no longer any tsunami threat from the quake.

The quake caused some damage in communities that Pope Francis will visit this week, but officials say it won’t change the pontiff ’s tour.