A magnitude-8 earthquake struck northern Peru’s Amazon rainforest, in a powerful temblor that was felt across the region.
One person died in the quake, which struck at 2:41 a.m. on May 26. The U.S. Geological Survey reported its epicenter was 46 miles from the city of Lagunas.
“We’re evaluating the affected areas. To all our citizens, I ask you to remain calm,” President Martín Vizcarra tweeted.
Vizcarra told Peruvians in a televised address that there had been injuries, and that multiple highways and a bridge collapsed. The damage to road infrastructure will complicate the already difficult task of reaching remote areas affected by the quake.
The earthquake’s area of impact included three oil refineries, according to the FreightWaves SONAR platform. Petroperú’s Iquitos and Conchan, and Maple Gas Corp Pucallpa refineries have a combined capacity of 23,250 barrels per day. The companies did not report any immediate damage.
Images from Peruvian authorities showed severe damage to buildings Yurimaguas, a city of more than 60,000 people.
The Ministry of Defense has made aircraft, vehicles and personally available to support relief efforts.
While earthquakes are commonplace in Peru, a magnitude-8 temblor is severe. The last quake of that magnitude occurred along Peru’s central coast in 2017, killing 519 people.
The USGS noted this latest quake was of an “intermediate-depth,” which typically cause less damage.