Five killed in Peru quake, thousands homeless

LIMA, Peru (Reuters) – A powerful 7.5 magnitude earthquake
that shook Peru’s northern jungle over the weekend has killed
five people and made several thousand homeless, regional
authorities said on Monday.

The quake hit on Sunday evening at 8:55 p.m. (0155 GMT on
Monday) and its epicenter was 56 miles northeast of the
coffee-growing town of Moyobamba, 445 miles north of Lima.

The worst damage occurred in the nearby hilltop town of
Lamas in the San Martin region, where a 72-year-old woman, a
9-year-old boy and a man were killed, Lamas Mayor Rafael
Saavedra told CPN radio.

A woman in the neighboring La Libertad region died when her
house collapsed on top of her, rescue workers said.

A fifth unidentified person died in the San Martin region,
Peru’s emergency disaster agency INDECI said and warned of more
deaths as rescue workers search for victims.

“In Lamas, we’ve got 102 destroyed homes and another 498
houses that are uninhabitable, which leaves 3,000 people
homeless right now,” Saavedra said.

President Alejandro Toledo arrived in Lamas on Monday
afternoon to survey the damage and the central government sent
doctors, blankets, tents, food and medicine to the area,
officials said.

The quake was felt strongly in Lima where people ran out of
their houses in fright.

In Moyobamba, which is also a major flower and tobacco
growing area, a police spokesman said the walls of some
buildings had collapsed, including parts of the prison, but the
inmates were accounted for.

Radio reports said residents in Moyobamba, afraid of
aftershocks, slept in the streets.

Quakes of such magnitude are capable of causing serious
damage in urban areas.

A huge 8.4 magnitude earthquake struck southern Peru in
2001, killing 78 people, including 26 by a tsunami, and causing
some $300 million in damages.

Peru’s deadliest quake, in 1970, registered a magnitude of
7.9 and killed 70,000.

(Additional reporting by Robin Emmott)