| Page 2 of 2 < |
Hundreds Dead in Peru Earthquake
Workers in Pisco, Peru, retrieve a body from a church that collapsed in the magnitude-8 earthquake Wednesday. Hundreds may have been buried in the rubble.
(By Martin Mejia -- Associated Press)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
According to local news reports, at least 200 people had been buried in the rubble of a church in Pisco. A church in Ica was also reported to have collapsed.
"The dead are scattered by the dozens on the streets," Pisco Mayor Juan Mendoza told Lima radio station CPN. "We don't have lights, water, communications. Most houses have fallen. Churches, stores, hotels -- everything is destroyed."
Local officials reported bands of looters raiding homes and stores. In Chincha, a penitentiary collapsed, setting free more than 600 prisoners. Police said that by midday, fewer than 5 percent of the convicts had been rearrested.
The earthquake was one of the strongest in Peru's recent history. There have been two other powerful earthquakes this decade, one in 2001 along the southern coast and another two years ago in the northern jungle. Both were stronger than magnitude-7, but the damage inflicted was not as extensive as that caused by Wednesday's disaster -- the deadliest earthquake in Peru since one killed 66,000 people in 1970.
President Alan García and most of his cabinet ministers traveled south to inspect the damage and declare a state of emergency. "There has been a good international response even without Peru asking for it, and they've been very generous," García said during a stop in Pisco.
The U.S. Agency for International Development said it would provide an initial $100,000 for immediate emergency needs. The Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort is in Ecuador and could quickly sail to Peru if asked, U.S. officials said. Colombian President Álvaro Uribe announced that he would travel to Lima to help in relief efforts.
García also voiced frustration with the country's communications system; land and mobile phone services collapsed for several hours after the earthquake.
"I have proposed that we change the system used by these companies," he said before heading to Ica. "Our country is prone to seismic activity and something like this could happen at any time."
Staff writers Michael A. Fletcher, Aruna Jain and Steve Vogel in Washington contributed to this report.
