M6.1 earthquake near Moyobamba, San Martín Department

What happened

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 52 km WSW of Barranca, Peru on 17 Apr 1953, 00:02 UTC at a depth of 15 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 Moyobamba, about 115 km away in San Martín Department, Peru.