7.1 quake off Peru kills at least one, levels adobe structures

Reporting from LIMA, Peru —  A powerful earthquake struck off Peru’s coast early Sunday, destroying adobe structures and killing at least one person, according to officials.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the 1:18 a.m. PST temblor had a magnitude of 7.1, down from an earlier calculation of 7.3. The epicenter was 25 miles south-southwest of the small town of Acari in the Arequipa district. It was centered 22 miles below the surface.

Arequipa Gov. Yamila Orosio tweeted that at least one person was killed and that there were reports of power outages and collapsed adobe structures.

The U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that “hazardous tsunami waves are forecast for some coasts” and that larger-than-normal waves could hit Peru and Chile. But the center then said in a later statement that “there is no longer a tsunami threat from this earthquake” and that the center hadn’t observed any tsunami waves.

UPDATES:

5:35 a.m.: Updated with one dead and a magnitude of 7.1, down from 7.3.

3 a.m.: Updated with the tsunami threat called off.

2:30 a.m.: Updated with a tsunami threat message.

This article was first published at 2:05 a.m.