Peru and Bolivia rocked by powerful 7.2 earthquake

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake rattled large areas of Peru and Bolivia on Thursday morning.

The quake struck southern Peru in the Andes mountains, north of Lake Titicaca, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS).

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage from the quake and no tsunami warning was issued.

USGS reported that the quake occured around 220 kilometres below ground, at a depth which usually causes less damage than shallower seismic events.

The quake began around 7:02 local time. As the tremors rippled through the region, buildings swayed in the Peruvian cities of Arequipa and Cusco, as well as La Paz, the capital of Bolivia, AP reported.

USGS reported that areas closest to the epicenter would have felt heavy shaking but limited damage. The tremors were likely to have been felt as far as parts of western Brazil and northern Chile.

Earthquakes are common in Peru as the country is located on the collision zone between the South American and Nazca tectonic plates.

Plate movement causes much of the Pacific coastline – in the Americas and Asia – to have frequent geological activity including earthquakes and volcanoes. The Andes mountains and a number of volcanoes in southern Peru were formed in part due to tectonic plate movement.

USGS said that a 7.0 magnitude quake also struck in 2019 close to the location of Thurday’s quake.