Thursday, August 16, 2007

The magnitude 7.9 Peruvian earthquake

A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck Peru 90 miles south of Lima causing significant shaking and a small tsunami. So far (6:10 GMT) it's been followed by 10 aftershocks larger than magnitude 5.0. The quake struck at the junction of two oceanic plates near the location of two previous magnitude 8 events (1908 and 1974). The USGS map below shows the area of greatest intensity.



"There was a pretty big, intense, long-wave earthquake," a woman named Erica in Lima told APTN television. "You could see all the buildings here in San Isidro and the glass shaking."

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