Twin earthquakes strike Peru killing at least five

What the report says

Al Jazeera reported that two earthquakes hit Peru’s mountainous Junin region on Saturday night, killing at least five people and injuring 21, according to authorities. Peru’s National Seismological Center measured the tremors at magnitudes 5.1 and 3.7, with depths of 24 km and 18 km. The affected area lies east of Lima, and images shared online appeared to show damaged homes and emergency teams working through debris.

Rescue operations were still under way as first responders searched for anyone possibly trapped beneath collapsed structures. Luis Vasquez, head of Peru’s National Civil Defense Institute, told local radio that preliminary assessments found at least 48 homes destroyed and 18 others damaged, leaving about 300 people displaced and in need of tents. Al Jazeera cited Exitosa radio as reporting five confirmed deaths, while Reuters, citing the civil defence chief, reported six.

President-elect Keiko Fujimori expressed condolences in a social media post on Sunday, saying she regretted the effects of the Junin earthquake and stood with affected families. The report noted that homes in Chupaca, about 300 km east of Lima, and nearby communities often use adobe mud-brick construction, which can be vulnerable during shaking.

The disaster underscores Peru’s exposure to seismic risk. Al Jazeera noted that the country sits within the Pacific Ring of Fire, a highly active volcanic and earthquake zone associated with much of the world’s seismic activity. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre had earlier estimated the first quake at magnitude 5.6, higher than the Peruvian center’s later figure.