7.3-magnitude quake strikes off Peru; 1 dead and 37 injured

The epicenter of the quake was located 42 kilometers south-southwest of Acari, with the earthquake hitting at 0918 GMT (4:18 a.m. EST | 5:18 p.m. PH time) at a depth of 12.1 kilometers. (Image from the US Geological Survey)

Published: 8:08 p.m., Jan. 14, 2018 | Updated: 12:34 a.m., Jan. 15, 2018

LIMA, Peru — A powerful earthquake struck off Peru’s coast early Sunday, causing at least one death and 57 injuries, according to officials.

The magnitude 7.1 quake, which struck at 0918 GMT (4:18 a.m. EST | 5:18 PH time) at a depth of 12.1 kilometers (about 7.5 miles), also knocked down adobe homes in small, rural towns and forced closure of some roads.

The US Geological Survey says quake was centered 25 miles (40 kilometers) from Acari, a small town in the Arequipa department of southwestern Peru.

It was felt at least as far away as the Peruvian capital of Lima, some 350 miles (560 kilometers) from Acari.

President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on Twitter he’s en route to the affected region to “verify the magnitude of the damage and send the needed humanitarian aid.”

The quake prompted a tsunami alert for parts of the country and neighboring Chile that was eventually called off.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center first issued a threat message that “hazardous tsunami waves are forecast for some coasts” and that larger-than-normal waves could hit Peru and Chile.

But the center then said in a later statement that “there is no longer a tsunami threat from this earthquake” and that the center hadn’t observed any tsunami waves.