M6.1 earthquake damages buildings and injures 28 in Ica, Peru
A strong earthquake registered by the IGP as an M6.1 struck near Ica, southern Peru, at 12:57 LT (17:57 UTC) on May 19, 2026, injuring 28 people and damaging homes, schools, health facilities, roads, and other public facilities.
Epicenter of M6.1 earthquake near Ica, Peru on May 19, 2026. Credit: TW/SAM, ESRI
The Instituto Geofísico del Perú (IGP) said the earthquake occurred at 12:57 local time, with the epicenter located 41 km (25 miles) south of Ica, at a depth of 81 km (50 miles). The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) registered it as M5.8 at a depth of 56 km (35 miles).
Peru’s National Emergency Operations Center (COEN-INDECI), part of the National Institute of Civil Defense, said that 28 people were injured and damage was recorded across Ica, Ayacucho, and Huancavelica.
Damage reports from housing and local authorities included 1 uninhabitable home in Pueblo Nuevo, 4 affected homes in Ingenio, 1 home with structural damage in Huaytará, several affected homes in Sunampe, and one home in the Ica provincial capital, where a wall collapsed after the shaking. There was no interruption to water, drainage, electricity, telephone, internet, or gas service.
Peru’s Ministry of Health said 2 health establishments were affected, and one of their administrative health offices in Ica.
Education sector authorities reported 4 affected schools where preventive isolation of compromised rooms was ordered while teams prepared damage-and-needs assessments.
The Ministry of the Interior reported damage at several sites in Ica, including detached ceiling material at the Technological University of Peru, fallen roof sections and light structures at Megaplaza shopping center, and cracks and broken windows at San Luis Gonzaga National University of Ica.
Transport impacts were concentrated on the PE-28A / Vía Los Libertadores corridor, where multiple rockfalls affected the roadway. The Ministry of Transport and Communications reported restricted traffic on the San Clemente–Huaytará section at km 41. Another section, between San Clemente and Ayacucho at Curva la Z, km 95 in Huaytará, was initially listed as interrupted and later downgraded to restricted traffic.
The Ministry of Culture reported cracks in several first-floor rooms of the Ica Regional Museum “Adolfo Bermúdez Jenkins,” mainly in exhibition halls, and said ceramic pieces fell without visible damage. No structural damage was found at Ica Cathedral or the church of San José School, though minimal plaster detachment was observed.
Peru is one of South America’s most seismically active countries due to its location along the eastern margin of the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the Nazca Plate subducts beneath the South American Plate. This tectonic setting produces frequent earthquakes along and offshore of the Peruvian coast, including shallow and intermediate-depth events capable of generating strong shaking in populated areas.
References:
1 M5.8 earthquake Peru – USGS – May 19, 2026
2 M6.1 earthquake Peru – IGP – May 19, 2026
3 Reporte Complementario N.° 7109 – COEN/INDECI – May 19, 2026
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