6.2-magnitude earthquake in Bolivia felt in Peru

The strong earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale in Bolivia on Tuesday was also felt in southern Peru, the Geophysics Institute of Peru (IGP) said.

The epicenter, with a depth of 553.30 km, was initially determined to be at 15.3448 degrees south latitude and 65.1099 degrees west longitude. The epicenter, which was located in Bolivia's Beni region, was at 350 kilometers from the capital La Paz in the west and at 325 km from Santa Cruz in the east.

The earthquake, which was reported at 13:48 p.m. local time (18: 48 GMT) in Peru, caused alarm in Peru's southern coastal departments of Arequipa and Tacna. The two departments are located at about 600 kilometers south of the Bolivian Beni department.

Peru is located in the "Pacific Ring of Fire", where 85 percent of the world's earthquakes happen every year. The last earthquake that shook Peru was 8.1 magnitude and devastated the provinces of Canete, Chincha, Pisco and Ica in the central part of the country, causing 596 deaths and more than 70,000 damaged homes.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

English.news.cn   2011-11-23 06:16:41 FeedbackPrintRSS
LIMA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua)