A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Peru early Friday morning, according to authorities, injuring at least three people, triggering a tsunami warning and shaking buildings as far away as the capital Lima, about 600 miles away.
According to the USGS, the earthquake occurred at 12:36 a.m. local time about a mile off the coast in the Arequipa region of Peru. Peru’s National Seismological Center said several aftershocks were recorded in Arequipa.
Peruvian authorities issued a tsunami warning for the coast and warned that waves could reach the town of Puerto Atico by 12:52 a.m. The U.S. Tsunami Warning Center said the tsunami threat passed about an hour later.
According to Peru’s Health Ministry, no deaths have been reported, but eight people were treated for injuries as the aftermath of the quake continues to be monitored.
The Health Ministry said in a statement that three people suffered “minor injuries” at a hospital in the town of Akari near the epicenter. Another five people were treated at a hospital in Ica, about 165 miles northwest of the epicenter, the defense ministry later said.
Landslides, damaged homes and road blockages were reported, according to local news outlets.
Footage on social media after the quake showed furniture and security cameras shaking for nearly 30 seconds, including in Lima.
The USGS said residents in earthquake-prone areas live in buildings that are “highly vulnerable to seismic tremors,” including buildings with mud walls and masonry structures.
Peru is located on a plate boundary that runs across the western coast of South America. The USGS says the strongest earthquake ever recorded was a magnitude 9.6 quake off the Chilean border in 1960.
Peru’s last fatal earthquake was a magnitude 5.4 in 2022, killing at least two people, according to the USGS. In 2018, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck near Arequipa, killing at least 14 people and leaving 12,000 homeless.
The 1970 earthquake off the coast of Peru was one of the most serious in the country’s history, killing an estimated 70,000 people, displacing 200,000 others, and sparking a global humanitarian response.
Lindsey Chutel Contributed to the report.