A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Peru early Friday and was felt as far away as the capital, Lima, about 600 miles (960 kilometers) away, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake struck about a mile off the coast of Peru’s Arequipa region at 12:36 a.m. local time, the ministry said. The USGS said. Peruvian authorities have issued a tsunami warning on the country’s coast and warned that waves could reach the town of Puerto Atico around 00:52 local time.
After the earthquake, videos on social media showed furniture and security cameras shaking for nearly 30 seconds, as far away as Lima.
Aftershocks of magnitude 4.2 and 4.0 were also recorded off Arequipa, Peru’s National Seismological Center said.
Peru is located on a plate boundary that extends down the west coast of South America. The world’s most powerful earthquake ever recorded occurred in 1960, a magnitude 9.6 quake that occurred along this border in Chile, the USGS said.
