LIMA (HPD) — Some 14 earthquakes —the largest magnitude being 5.9— were recorded Friday in the Pacific Ocean off a coastal region of Peru without causing damage or casualties, authorities reported.
The United States Geological Survey said the most recent earthquake, a 4.3, occurred at 7:39 p.m. local time. It had its epicenter in the Pacific, 120 kilometers south-southwest of the coastal city of Paracas, in the Ica region. The depth was 10 kilometers.
The earthquakes have been happening since dawn. The 5.9 occurred at 3:22 p.m. local time and had its epicenter in the ocean, 61 kilometers southwest of the city of Santiago, also in the Ica region, and at a depth of 9.4 kilometers.
The authorities indicated that the earthquakes —the one with the lowest intensity was 4.0— left no damage or victims, but most of them were felt by the residents of several cities in the Ica region, who took to the streets worried. In 2007, in the province of Pisco in the same region, an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 occurred, leaving almost 600 dead.
In the district of Ocucaje, in the region of Ica, Mayor Rolando Jayo told the local RPP radio that, because there were several earthquakes in a row, most of the residents of his municipality “will sleep away from home for fear of a future earthquake.
Earthquakes are frequent in Peru, since the country is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire.