Magnitude 5 quake shakes Peru's Junín region, recalling deadly July tremor

A magnitude 5 earthquake rattled the Junín region in central Peru on Thursday, August 6, 2026, causing alarm among residents. The tremor's intensity was similar to a devastating earthquake on July 18 that claimed five lives in the same Andean region.

The seismic event occurred at 1:57 p.m. local time, with its epicenter located 19 kilometers southwest of the Chupaca district in Junín province, at a depth of nine kilometers. The National Seismological Center reported the quake, which registered an intensity of V in Chupaca, prompting many residents to evacuate buildings and seek safety outdoors.

Some experts speculated on social media that this latest tremor was the fifteenth aftershock of the July 18 earthquake, which had a magnitude of 5.1. The earlier earthquake resulted in landslides on unstable slopes in the Mantaro Valley. It was followed by a 3.7 magnitude aftershock just seventeen minutes later.

The July 18 earthquake primarily affected several districts, including Chongos Bajo, San Juan de Iscos, and Huancayo. Official reports from Civil Defense confirmed five fatalities in Chongos Bajo, three men and two women, including a 17-year-old.

Beyond the fatalities, the July earthquake left 32 injured, 398 displaced, and 180 affected. It also destroyed 52 homes, rendered 43 uninhabitable, and affected 74 others. Peru lies within the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area prone to frequent seismic activity, with a major earthquake in 2007 in the Ica region causing approximately 500 deaths and significant material losses.