At least five people have been killed after a 5.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Andes region of Peru, officials said on Sunday.
The earthquake, which occurred on Saturday night, also left 21 people injured as it shook the town of Chongos Bajo, about 300 kilometres (180 miles) east of Lima, according to the Geophysics Institute of Peru.
The institute said the earthquake had an epicentre at a depth of 24 kilometres (15 miles).
“The earthquake destroyed our home. Here there are many adobe houses that collapsed,” an unnamed resident of Chongos Bajo told N television network.
General Luis Vasquez, Director of the National Civil Defense Institute, said the shallow depth of the earthquake contributed to the extent of the damage, particularly because many homes in the affected communities are built with adobe or quincha, a traditional mixture of wood, cane and mud.
“Forty-eight houses were destroyed and 300 people were left homeless,” he said.
Peru is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, a seismically active zone stretching from Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific Ocean.
According to seismologists, Peru experiences at least 400 earthquakes every year, although about three-quarters of them are too weak to be felt by residents.
