M6.9 earthquake near Camaná, Arequipa

What happened

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 24 km NNE of El Cardo, Peru on 16 Feb 1979, 10:08 UTC at a depth of 53 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 Camaná, about 27 km away in Arequipa, Peru.