Tremor in Cusco: Ministry of Culture will monitor damage to the ‘Sistine Chapel’ after four earthquakes

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The city of Andahuaylillas endured four earthquakes on Tuesday, April 30. | New TV

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck the district of Andahuaylillas, located in the province of Quispicanchi, in the region of Cusco, in the morning hours of Tuesday, April 30th.

According to the Geophysical Institute of Peru (IGP), the earthquake occurred at 5:09 and had a depth of 10 kilometers, as well as a latitude and longitude of -13.55 and -71.66 degrees.

After three other earthquakes were felt in this same region, the population of Andahuaylillas makes common pots. Likewise, the image of the Lord of the Tremors was taken to the door of the Sistine Chapel in America, to perform a mass.

Due to the strong tremors, the population has chosen to stay outside their homes. The Andahuaylillas police officers had to vacate the police station due to the danger of collapse. | New TV

Even the Archbishopric of Cusco did not rule out that in the coming days the sacred image will go out in procession to impart its blessing. To do this, it would be possible to coordinate with competent institutions and organizations.

The National Emergency Operations Center (COEN) reported that it has coordinated with local and regional authorities, who noted that the quake was perceived as strong in the districts of Acomayo, Acopia, Mosoc Llacta, Rondocan, Coya, Lares, Pisac, San Salvador , Paucartambo, Caicay, Challabamba, Colquepata, Huancarani, Kosnipata, Urcos, Andahuaylillas, Ccarhuayo, Ccatca, Huaro, Lucre and Oropesa.

The earthquake caused damage to two temples in the region, according to authorities – credit Reuters / Luisa González

Consequently, first response units, together with local authorities, began monitoring in vulnerable areas, without reporting, so far, structural damage or fatalities.

In the afternoon of the same day, an earthquake was recorded again. On this occasion it was 3.5, in Quispicanchi, with a depth of 13 kilometers.

SSN Web reported that visits to the San Pedro Apóstol de Andahuaylillas and San Juan Bautista de Huaroy temples have been suspended, after damage was detected in the infrastructure of the Sistine Chapel in Cusco.

In this way, an attempt will be made to verify the damage caused. “We urge the population to remain calm, in the next few hours we will report the results of the inspection work,” the authorities said.

The COEN reported that the affected people reside in more than 400 homes – credit Twitter/@terrape 163

In addition, there was damage to the Andahuaylillas police station and several districts of Urcos, Lucre and Huaros. On the other hand, the National Emergency Operations Center stated that there are more than 1,183 affected people residing in 486 homes.

The Decentralized Directorate of Culture (DDC) of Cusco will prepare a technical report on the damage caused by the three earthquakes that occurred on April 30 in the colonial temple of the Andahuaylillas district, also known as the Sistine of America.

“What is being visualized is the detachment of the plaster, of the pictorial layer, of the plaster coating,” he specified regarding the internal assessment; in addition to the fall of a large number of tiles due to the steep slope. “The tiles do not have fixation,” she told Andina Janeth Bárcena Ramírez, a member of the technical team of the Office of Real Estate Historical Heritage.

The Latin American country has had to face various seismic events that have left hundreds of dead, injured and countless material damages. Here is a list of the most relevant ones.

They report damage to the Andahuaylillas police station after the earthquake. | PNP

May 31, 1970

The 7.9 magnitude earthquake originated in the department of Áncash, followed by a landslide that buried the city of Santo Domingo de Yungay at 3:23 p.m.

This event is considered the most destructive earthquake in the history of the country, not only because of the magnitude but also because of the number of fatalities it caused, estimated at 67,000, according to the document “The Ancash earthquake and the snowfall avalanche.” Huascaran”, written by the geophysicist and scientific advisor of the National Institute of Civil Defense (Indeci), Mateo Casaverde, while there were also 150,000 injured, equally affecting the departments of Huácamo, Lima and La Libertad.

Image of a seismograph. EPA/Alanah M. Torralba

Due to this catastrophe, in 1972 the government of Peru founded the National Institute of Civil Defense, in charge of devising plans to deal with this type of accidents and preparing national drills every May 31.

October 3, 1974

An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 occurred in the capital, Lima, at 09:21 a.m., a movement that was also felt on the Peruvian coast to the south. The movement lasted around 90 seconds and left 252 dead and 3,600 injured.

May 29, 1990

Another earthquake measuring 6.4 caused the death of 77 people, left 1,680 injured, 58,835 homeless and 11,000 homes destroyed. The movement, which began at 9:34 a.m., left damage in the cities of San Martín, Amazonas, Cajamarca, Rioja, Moyobamba, Chachapoyas, Jaén and Bagua.

June 23, 2001

A 6.9 magnitude earthquake affected southern Peru in the regions of Moquegua, Tacna and Arequipa, leaving 74 people dead, 2,689 injured, more than 21,000 affected, 64 people missing, 35,601 homes affected, of which 17,584 were destroyed.