5.5 magnitude earthquake hits Peru's Andes region and kills at least 6
people
[July 20, 2026]
LIMA, Peru (AP) — A 5.5 magnitude earthquake shook the Andes
region of Peru, killing at least six people, injuring more than 30 and
displacing 300, authorities said Sunday.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake struck on Saturday at 9:24
p.m., with its epicenter located 2 kilometers (1.24 miles)
west-southwest of the city of Sicaya in Huancayo province. It was 10
kilometers (6.21 miles) deep. |
Residents walk amid the debris of homes that collapsed after an
earthquake struck Pumpuya, Peru, Sunday, July 19, 2026. ( AP
Photo/Javier Ninanya) |
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Peru’s National Civil Defense Institute said in a statement the
total number of missing is still unknown. Several buildings
collapsed or suffered structural damage, including the historic
“Santiago de León” church and former convent in Chongos Bajo,
which was built in 1565 and designated as national heritage site
for being a 16th century “architectural gem.”
Luis Vásquez, head of the local civil defense office, told
journalists that the use of rustic adobe materials in
construction in that Andean area “has contributed to the greater
impact and damage."
Earthquakes are frequent in Peru, which is located in the
so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire.”
Images broadcast by local media captured the anguish of victims’
relatives in one of the hardest-hit areas, the agricultural
region of Chongos Bajo, where residents huddled under blankets
outside severely damaged homes. Animals were also seen under the
rubble.
“My home has been destroyed,” Hermenegilda Guamalato told a
local radio station as she sought a place to stay with her three
children in the neighboring province of Huayucachi.
In 2007, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck the province of Pisco
in the Ica region, killing nearly 600 people.
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