2022 Chilca earthquake

An earthquake struck the Department of Lima, Peru on May 12, 2022. The earthquake caused minor damage and some casualties in the Lima area. Several homes collapsed due to the earthquake.

2022 Chilca earthquake
2022 Chilca earthquake is located in Peru
2022 Chilca earthquake
UTC time2022-05-12 21:55:48
ISC event624314764
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local dateMay 12, 2022 (2022-05-12)
Local time16:55
Magnitude5.4 Mw
Depth51.2 km (31.8 mi)
Epicenter12°23′35″S 76°53′49″W / 12.393°S 76.897°W / -12.393; -76.897
Areas affectedPeru
Total damageMinor
Max. intensityMMI VII (Very strong)
Casualties2 dead, 11 injured

Tectonic setting

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Earthquakes in Peru occur as the result of shallow thrust faulting about 100 km east of the Peru-Chile Trench and on the subduction zone interface between the Nazca and South American plates. At the location of the earthquake, the two plates converge at a velocity of about 77 mm/yr, with the South American plate moving up and seaward over the Nazca plate. The earthquake location, depth, and focal mechanism solutions indicate that the source of the earthquake was likely along the interface between the two plates.

Coastal Peru has a history of very large earthquakes. The May 2022 event originated just northwest of the source region of the Lima earthquake of October 1974 and just north of the source regions of major earthquakes that occurred in August 1942 and November 1996. The largest coastal Peru earthquake of the last two centuries was the magnitude 8.5-9.3 earthquake of 1868, which was centered southeast of the May 12th earthquake. The 1868 event produced a tsunami that resulted in 25,000 fatalities along the South America coast and also caused damage in Hawaii.

Earthquake

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Modified Mercalli intensities in selected locations[1]
MMI Locations Population exposure
MMI VII (Very strong) San Bartolo 8,000
MMI VI (Strong) San Luis 1.08 million
MMI V (Moderate) Lima
Callao
8.92 million
MMI IV (Light) San Vicente de Cañete 1.46 million

The earthquake occurred southeast of the Peruvian capital Lima. It was centred 11 km northwest of San Bartolo.[1] The earthquake had a maximum MMI of VII (Very strong) in San Bartolo, and an intensity of V (Moderate) in Lima.[1]

Other events

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Four months prior to the May event, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck the same area.[2] This earthquake caused 39 injuries, destroyed twelve homes and caused rockslides in the Lima area.[3]

Impact

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Minor damage occurred mainly in Lima. Four adobe houses collapsed, and seventeen others were damaged. One of these collapsing homes injured three people in Huaral, all over the age of 50. Three young children were injured and a 16-year-old girl fell from the third floor of her home. In total, eleven people were injured. A four-year-old child in Lima was injured and later died at the hospital after falling off a building during the quake,[4][5] and an 84-year-old woman died of a heart attack.[6][7] A coastal highway in Costa Verde suffered landslides from the ravines that guard it, which caused occasional closures of the road.[8][9]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "M 5.5 – 11 km W of San Bartolo, Peru". United States Geological Survey. 12 May 2022. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  2. ^ "M 5.6 – 6 km NW of Cocachacra, Peru". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  3. ^ GESTIÓN, NOTICIAS (2022-01-07). "Sismos en Lima; Nueve heridos y deslizamientos de piedras en carreteras tras temblor de 5.6 nndc | PERU". Gestión (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2022-01-07.
  4. ^ "Minsa: falleció niña de 4 años que cayó del tercer piso durante sismo en Lima" [Minsa: 4-year-old girl who fell from the third floor during an earthquake in Lima died]. El Comercio (in Spanish). 14 May 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-05-16. Retrieved 2022-05-16.
  5. ^ Caouette, Carole (15 May 2022). "Terremoto en Lima: Una niña de 4 años murió al caer del tercer piso de su casa durante un sismo". Peru ES Euro News (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 May 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  6. ^ "Al menos un muerto y 8 heridos por el sismo que sacudió a Lima" [At least one dead and 8 injured by the earthquake that shook Lima]. swissinfo.ch (in Spanish). 13 May 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-05-15. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  7. ^ "Sismo en Lima: fuerte movimiento de 5.5 de magnitud deja como saldo siete heridos y un fallecido" [Earthquake in Lima: strong movement of 5.5 magnitude leaves four injured]. Infobae (in Spanish). 12 May 2022. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  8. ^ "COEN y Minsa reportan siete heridos y un fallecido tras el sismo en Lima de esta tarde" [COEN and Minsa report seven injured and one deceased after the earthquake in Lima this afternoon]. Infobae (in Spanish). 12 May 2022. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Sismo de 5,5 en Chilca: buena construcción de casas evitó más daños" [5.5 earthquake in Chilca: good construction of houses prevented further damage]. La República (in Spanish). MSN. 14 May 2022. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.