M6.9 earthquake near Talara, Piura

What happened

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 71 km NW of El Alto, Peru on 7 Feb 1959, 09:36 UTC at a depth of 30 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Talara, about 95 km away in Piura, Peru.