7.0-magnitude earthquake off coast of central Peru on September 25

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is reporting a 7.0-magnitude earthquake off the coast of central Peru today (September 25, 2013). No Pacific-wide tsunami warning was issued; none is in effect. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did warn of possible local events, saying:

NO DESTRUCTIVE WIDESPREAD TSUNAMI THREAT EXISTS BASED ON HISTORICAL EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI DATA.

HOWEVER – EARTHQUAKES OF THIS SIZE SOMETIMES GENERATE LOCAL TSUNAMIS THAT CAN BE DESTRUCTIVE ALONG COASTS LOCATED WITHIN A HUNDRED KILOMETERS OF THE EARTHQUAKE EPICENTER. AUTHORITIES IN THE REGION OF THE EPICENTER SHOULD BE AWARE OF THIS POSSIBILITY AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION.

We are hearing reports that the inhabitants of the Camaná and Castilla areas of the region of Arequipa felt the earthquake — and that hundreds of people went to the streets. There are also reports of landslides that have blocked the Panamerican Highway near the Chaparra bridge. No word yet on injuries or other damages.

Details of the quake from the USGS follow:

Event Time
2013-09-25 16:42:43 UTC
2013-09-25 11:42:43 UTC-05:00 at epicenter

Location 15.851°S 74.562°W

Depth=45.8km (28.5mi)

Nearby Cities
46km (29mi) S of Acari, Peru
91km (57mi) SE of Minas de Marcona, Peru
120km (75mi) SSE of Nazca, Peru
135km (84mi) SSW of Puquio, Peru
498km (309mi) SSE of Lima, Peru

You may have heard there was a large earthquake in Pakistan yesterday (September 24), and you might be wondering … why so many earthquakes? But in fact frequent earthquakes are a fact of life on planet Earth. Follow this link to view the latest earthquakes, magnitude 2.5 and above.

Follow this link to view significant earthquakes of the last 30 days.

Bottom line: The USGS reported a 7.0-magnitude earthquake off the coast of central Peru on September 25, 2013.