Last night, at around 2:40 am Peruvian time, the biggest earthquake of the year happened. The earthquake was originally reported as being a 7.5 on the Richter scale but soon upgraded to an 8.0 at the epicentre.
The epicentre was in Northern Peru, in the region of Loreto, a region in the Amazon rainforest. It was felt across Peru, and there are reports of it being felt in Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and there are even some reports from Bolivia and Venezuela.
As a person who hadn’t experienced an earthquake before, I didn’t know as it started if it was a normal thing or something more serious, although I hadn’t experienced anything like it in my 15 months in the region. But it continued and got stronger for 2-3 minutes before it stopped calmed to a stop.
I’m located in the region of Loreto, but still quite a distance from the epicentre.
It was an exciting and yet scary experience, rushing out of bed without clothes, rushing to put them on as I make my way to the stairs as both the walls and my legs appear to be wobbling. Just before I reached the front door the power went out so I was using my phone as a light, like many other people at the time. I couldn’t be too sure when the shakes stopped as my legs were still wobbling for a few more minutes.
Some sounds of panic could be heard from neighbours, as well as the cats and dogs.
The earthquake appeared to stop soon going outside. Around the same time, all of the neighbours were also coming out of their houses and all appeared to have lost power. The phone network still worked so people were making phone calls to their family and friends for quite some time after.
Losing power can cause more serious problems here than in developed countries. Obviously, at first you notice the lights go, but because of that everyone was using their phones for a light which drains the battery very fast. Cellphones remain the only method of communication in the region, even internet connections for computers in the region are provided by mobile connections.
Without electricity, most people couldn’t check the TV or radio for updates.
These are the issues that arise in the first few minutes, but afterwards, everyone is waiting, scared to go to sleep, for an aftershock.
During this time the heat increases without fans or air conditioning, even in the middle of the night it’s hot in the Amazon all year round. For me, too hot to sleep.
The earthquake affected store structures and houses in Yurimaguas
The household and business water supplies are all provided by raised tanks. When a tank is low on water it’s filled from an underground tank with a water pump, an electric water pump. This limits the available water for washing and staying cool. Most people avoid drinking the water as there’s quite a high chance of infection. Filtered drinking water is provided in re-usable gallon bottles, but that also relies on electronic technology, and the bottles are ordered by phone.
The next problem is the food, while gas tends to be used for cooking, the gas tanks are ordered by phone like the filtered water. The food storage, on the other hand, means a lot of food could be spoiled and lost.
A problem that some have to deal with is property and vehicle damage. Property damage for poorer people, in poorer regions, can be much worse than for others for obvious reasons.
Luckily, these problems were mostly avoided when the power came back after 3 hours. Others reported the power coming back in their region within an hour. However, in other regions closer to the epicentre and where communication is limited, the power may still be out.
Aftershocks are still likely in the region for a week or two, but the likelihood decreases over time. People are advised to get a bag ready with water, a light, and a waterproof coat. People are also advised to keep their money, credit cards and passport/ID on them.
One person died in the earthquake, it’s said that a rock fell on their house. There are reports of around 30 injured people in Peru and Ecuador.
Many homes, businesses, and churches were damaged and there are reports of a bridge falling down nearer the epicentre.
This church in Santa Cruz was damaged by the earthquake
The western media showed a clear disconnect in their reporting of the situation, especially at first, with hyped headlines but downplaying the seriousness of the event as just another earthquake in a region that has a lot of earthquakes.
The truth is that it’s downplayed because the people affected aren’t Westerners.
English speaking people aren’t reporting it to the English speaking world so the news just turns into facts and figures. 8.0 on the scale, 1 dead, just another earthquake of many.
Western countries are largely focusing on bettering their electronics technologies, cleaning the air, and reducing plastic waste. But here in the Amazon, a place that you might imagine to be beautiful and pure is run by petroleum and plastic and lacks recycling facilities. Peru’s government still celebrates when a contract is signed to allow oil drilling in the Amazon because money is the top priority.
Developing countries and regions like the Amazon need help more than we do in developed countries. If the power goes out for a longer time, people will get sick and die if they don’t have a generator running on diesel.
I will cover more about the environmental issues in the region in a future article. For now, all I’ll say is it’s not how you hope it is.