[News] Earthquake 7.5 in Peru

[Takako]

7.5 quake hits near Lima, Peru

LIMA, Peru (AP) — A powerful earthquake shook Peru's southern coast on Wednesday, toppling houses and causing panic in the capital. Authorities issued a tsunami warning for South America's Pacific coast.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 7.5 magnitude earthquake hit about 90 miles southeast of Lima at a depth of about 25 miles. Peru's geophysical institute said the epicenter was 75 miles southwest of Lima.

An Associated Press photographer said that homes had collapsed in the center of Lima and that many people had fled into the streets for safety. Another AP reporter said the quake shook the capital for more than a minute.

Local firefighters said that street lights collapsed and windows shattered in Lima but did not specify if there were any injuries. Workers were evacuated from Lima office buildings after the quake struck and remained outside in open areas, fearing aftershocks

Callers to Radio Programas, Peru's main news station, said parts of several cities in southern Peru had been hit with blackouts.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued "an expanding regional tsunami warning and watch for parts of the Pacific located closer to the earthquake," as well as a tsunami advisory for the U.S. state of Hawaii. The center said it did not know if a tsunami had been generated.

www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-08-15-peru-quake_N.htm



Just to let you know... Vox (I talked to her later the earthquake but idk) and Vic, are you ok?
I'm afraid of the tsunami, so I had to post this.
If the thread does not have to be here move it, but I think it's the correct place

:S

[Zach]

Ok, please stay safe. I hope all goes well for you, and my other friends in Peru. Do u know if it hit Arequipa?

[ViCtoria*]

Hello guys!! Reporting from Peru ! It hit Lima, the capital city, and Peru overall, but I don't think it was that big. This is what CNN says: "The quake struck at 6:41 p.m. (7:41 p.m. ET) and was centered 25 miles (61 kilometers) west-northwest of Chincha Alta, Peru, and 90 miles (161 kilometers) south-southeast of Lima, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was 25 miles (47 kilometers) below the Earth's surface." Actually, it struck at 6:35. I was alone in my friend's house (she had dance lessons), doing my homework and suddenly the lights went off... And the earth was moving.
Thing is, we are used to small earthquakes, but this one was big, though not as big as the one during the 1970's.
I think there haven't been any deaths, only some woundede in Ica. The president gave a speech, no one will go to school! Yesh. I am happy for that.
Sorry if this sounded a bit out of place, as if I didn't care, it's just that after the scary setting, I am in a hyper mood now.

Only thing is that CNN has stated that there's a possibility for a second earthquake between 2 and 4 am (it's 10 pm right now). Also, from el Callao (district in Lima near the seashore), ppl are being evacuated, but that's about it.

If there's something new I'll tell u!

[llVoXll]

WOAH T.T IT SUCKED!!!! (ant i live in a sismic zone xDDDD) anyway i was so sleepy i was pissed off. Even so i'm currently writing and there is a small quake right now but toleranble oh **** not a gain anyway i quiclky copy this source to u gotta go sry T___T:

(it was stronger than the 1970s quake X.X)
_________________________________

www.miamiherald.com/579/story/204560.html

LIMA --
An extremely powerful and long earthquake struck Peru Wednesday night, reportedly killing at least 17 people, destroying houses, downing power and telephone lines and triggering fears of a tsunami.

A report by Canal N in Peru reported that the 6:41 p.m. (CST) earthquake killed at least 17 people and injured hundreds, but President Alan García told the nation in a televised address that the death figure could reach 70.

García appealed for calm and recommended that people living along the Pacific coast leave low-lying areas because of the reported tsunamis. The collapse of one church was believed to have killed at least several people.

The U.S. Geological Society said the earthquake registered 7.9 on the Richter Scale. The epicenter was about 90 miles south of Lima, off the coast of the state of Ica.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii issued a tsunami warning for Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama and said its instruments had detected a tsunami of undetermined maginitude, with later withdrew the report.

''It was horrible, really horrible,'' Victoria Castilla, a maid in Lima said 90 minutes after the earthquake. ``We were in the kitchen, and it wouldn't stop. We thought the roof would fall in. We went outside. I'm still nervous.''

In the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, callers to Radio Programas de Peru, the main news station, said it caused widespread panic, knocked out power and phone services in places throughout Peru.

''The problem is communications,'' Health Minister Carlos Vallejos told the radio station. ``It's very difficult to communicate.''

Initial reports said that the tremor destroyed adobe houses south of the capital city of Lima.

Lima residents are accustomed to small earthquakes every few months, and some big ones less frequently.

A 1970 earthquake of 7.7 magnitude killed 70,000 people -- many in the central mountain city of Huaraz, which was buried by a mudslide -- and destroyed 600,000 homes. A A 2001 earthquake centered in the southern state of Arequipa killed 75 people and destroyed 25,000 homes.

Bruce Presgrave, a spokesman at the government National Earthquake Information Center, said Wednesday night's earthquake was the third biggest of the year worldwide. Only earthquakes of an 8.1 magnitude off the coasts of Russia and Australia were bigger.

Monday night's quake here was so powerful that many people left their apartment buildings and huddled outside in fear. Many were crying.

Several smaller aftershocks added to the nervousness.

Edwing Diaz, an 18-year-old private security guard, said he was walking to work when the quake hit. He said he first saw the steel bars of a fence begin to move and thought it might be a joke.

The ground began to shake more violently and Diaz felt like he was on a boat at sea. ''I stopped walking thinking that the earth might open up at any moment,'' Diaz said. ``I readied myself to jump to either side at any moment to avoid falling into the earth.''

Diaz told the story as he smoked the first cigarette of his life.

''I'm trying to calm my nerves,'' he said.

[llVoXll]

oh it's over T.T i hate the aftermath quakes, scares me off

anyway how's everybody? =) i'll tell ya how it went in my house xD

I was going to take a bath (and it is winter) so I was in a shirt and panties when I felt earth movement. Normally I'd have run like mad but since i had not slept for 2 days I was pissed off I stayed there. My mom as always got desperate (the quake was VERY small) and told us to come to the safety place. My brother teased her by jumping several times of suspended stairs.

Then it got nastier. Even my brother fleed out there and came with us to the safety place.

I was like "Don't u dare see me!" and tried to hid, and was VERY COLD! >.< The earthquake got a lil stronger and then it went away. I thought it was over. But no, no, no, very nasty. It came back again and BUBUBUBUBUBUMMM! The lamps on the living room spinned like a helicopter, the fridge was taunting us with falling, of course stuff fell of the closets, some of my furniture got broken T___T and i could feel the floor like if it was alive, like a wave out there, it vibrated like hell. Then it got even worse and longer, the house went slightly side to side, swaying which is good but scared out the crap of me T.T It lasted 2 minutes.

During that times I thought I was alucinating lightining cause I saw the sky was light blue and green at some times but after i got into msn, some of my friends told me they've seen the lights in the sky too, those weird blue and green lights for just few seconds. Even I saw it in Panorama's video (channel 5)

Anyway my house is pretty the same no real harm known until now

anyway i must go to the beach next week so wish me luck =)

[ViCtoria*]

Deaths have been confirmed. I think about 20, showing this was not a MASSIVE earthquake, but quite harmful indeed.

I am still happy cuz there's no school tomorrow

[alyssamilanofan]

glad to hear you both are ok111

[Zach]

Ok thats good. I'm glad all is good for both of you

[darkme]

hey I just heard on the news that around 1350 ppl were injured and around 300 were killed! wow... that's really seems like a big one!!!

[llVoXll]

yeah, at first 19 ppl were killed (reported on the same night) but the numbers of deaths are going up and up each time, for example in Pisco lots of the dead bodies have been absorved by the sea nearby so determining how many ppl died is hard

There was a small earthquake in the morning, put it 4 or 5 but nothing more. Anyway what pisses me off is that my house is still shaking since i live in a sismic zone (those damned mountains X.x)

I haven't been to my other house but they called us to say that the "mampara" (Afrikaner, a huge wall made up of glass) had exploded so there are glasses all over the house. That sux T.T but we can't go there since it is in the beach and it is a small house that can easily be destroyed. Other houses nearby mine had the walls collapsed :S that was worse

Today i was supposed to go to CAS and take care of the older people. I'm very worried about how they are now since i recall the place was not so well built. CAS in the only reason why I loathe not being able to go to school 2day

[darkme]

hey that's really bad!! I really hope the CAS is well and the elders are ok as well....

prayers 2 u from Oman!!

[Zach]

And prayers from the US!

[ViCtoria*]

Between 500 to 700 deaths in Ica.
About 3000 people wounded.

Yesh .

[llVoXll]

fck even more casualities >.< this sux and I luv ICAAAA T.T (2nd place just after Cajamarca)

[Takako]

The images are terrible. I'm seeing them on television. Anyway in my city there aren't possibilities to help, I should live in Buenos Aires. Ah, and they say there was another quake minutes ago? 5 magnitude, that's what they are saying right now.


Prayers from Argentina too

[darkme]

karma 4 u takako for creating this thread!! it's keeping us all updated!!

[Takako]

Thank you!


Here it is what I was saying:

6.0-magnitude aftershock strikes Peru

Friday, August 17, 2007 - 10:28 AM
By: 680News staff, with reports from Associated Press

A 6.0-magnitude aftershock hit Peru Friday morning, days after a 8.0 magnitude earthquake devastated the country.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the aftershock was centred out 90 kilometres from the capital of Lima.
The latest aftershock comes as the death toll rises from the original quake on Wednesday, in which more than 500 people have been confirmed dead and 1,500 injured.
The initial 8.0-magnitude quake struck at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday about 145 kilometres southeast of Lima at a depth of about 30 kilometres. At least 15 aftershocks followed, some as strong as magnitude-6.3.
The quake knocked out telephone and mobile phone service between the capital and the disaster zone - power lines also drooped dangerously into the streets.
Aid groups from around the world are heading to the central part of the country. Canada has pledged $2 million in initial aid.

680news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20070817_102823_4192

[Zach]

2 million canadian dollars is about 5 million Soles! Wow, that's allot of money.

[alyssamilanofan]

wow i saw it on the news.. it's horrible and the aftershocks put serieus restrictions on the aid that's being offered... it's horrible..

[ViCtoria*]

Guys thanks for showing so much concern towards this! I wish I had gone to Chincha to help them yesterday, with my sister, but she did not tell me she was going so there was nothing I could do! There are many Webpages in which you can donate money and stuff
It's true, Jennifer, all the restrictions they are giving... And the aftershocks are SO tiny! We have always been used to small tremors every now and then, guess that foreigners do not like that, huh?

Anyways, on CNN they published an article of a man that saved a 7 months old baby from the ruins of a church in Ica !! The parents have not been identified, yet, and the man and his wife are trying to take care of the baby, but their house was destroyed due to the earhtquake. Still, what he did requires a lot of courage!