7.2 magnitude earthquake hits Peru, tsunami warning issued

According to the United States Geological Survey, an earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale occurred off the coast of Peru early Friday and was felt as far away as the capital, Lima, about 960 kilometers away.

The quake struck at 12:36 a.m. local time about a mile off the coast of Peru’s Arequipa region, the USGS said. Peruvian authorities issued a tsunami warning for the country’s coast and warned that waves could reach the town of Puerto Atico by 12:52 a.m. local time.

After the quake, videos on social media showed furniture and surveillance cameras as far away as Lima shaking for nearly 30 seconds.

According to the Peruvian National Seismological Center, aftershocks measuring 4.2 and 4.0 were also recorded off Arequipa.

Peru lies on a plate boundary that stretches across the west coast of South America. The world’s strongest earthquake ever recorded was a magnitude 9.6 quake in 1960 along that boundary in Chile, the USGS said.