M5.3 earthquake near El Pedregal, Arequipa

What happened

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 17 km SSW of El Pedregal, Peru on 28 Dec 2022, 21:11 UTC at a depth of 75 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was an intermediate-depth earthquake, so shaking is spread over a wider, gentler area.

The nearest town in our records is El Pedregal, about 18 km away in Arequipa, Peru.