(Dust filled the air in Pausa, Preu. Photo BBC News)
An earthquake struck southern Peru on Thursday, injuring at least three people and damaging homes and schools in the area.
The quake, which hit near a small settlement in the Ayacucho region, had a magnitude of 6.7 according to international seismic monitors, though Peru’s own geological institute recorded it as slightly stronger at 7.2.
The earthquake happened around 1 p.m. local time at a depth of 100 kilometers, in a remote part of the Andes mountains, about 31 kilometers from the settlement of Aniso.
According to Peru’s defence minister, at least 22 homes and six schools suffered damage.
Three people were hurt but did not have serious injuries.
About 10 health facilities in the affected region were damaged, though they continued operating.
Two more healthcare facilities were damaged in a neighboring region.
Around 9,000 properties lost electrical power as a result of the earthquake, and nine educational buildings were damaged.
People felt the tremors across much of the country, including in the capital Lima, which is about 480 kilometers away from where the earthquake struck.
Earthquakes happen regularly in Peru because the country sits at the point where two large pieces of the earth’s crust meet.
Thursday’s earthquake was just the latest powerful seismic event to hit South America recently.
Colombia was hit by a strong earthquake on August 10 that killed more than 300 people.
Venezuela experienced two massive earthquakes just 39 seconds apart on June 24, which resulted in more than 6,000 deaths according to local officials.
