6.5-magnitude earthquake strikes near Brazil-Peru border

The map shows the epicenter location of a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that struck near the Brazil-Peru border early Wednesday. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey
The map shows the epicenter location of a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that struck near the Brazil-Peru border early Wednesday. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey

June 8 (UPI) -- A powerful 6.5-magnitude earthquake struck near the Brazilian-Peruvian border on Wednesday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the epicenter of the earthquake was 69 miles south-southwest of Tarauaca, Brazil at a depth of 386 miles.

The USGS said the earthquake, near Peru's Alto Purus National Park, affected very little of the country's population.

"The strength of the earthquake may have been tempered by its relative great depth below the surface, which makes it feel weaker in absolute terms," said the website Volcano Discovery.com.

"A second report was later issued by the citizen-seismograph network of RaspberryShake, which listed it as a magnitude 5.5 earthquake as well. A third agency, the European-Mediterranean Seismological Center, reported the same quake at magnitude 5.7."

On May 26, a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck southern Peru eight miles west-northwest of Azangaro, and last November, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake rocked northern Peru in the Amazonas region 26 miles north-northwest of Barranca.

Peru sits as part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic collisions drive the majority of Earth's earthquakes and volcanoes.

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