November 12, 1996 Earthquake: Chincha Alta, Acari, Nazca, Marcona, Peru

At least 14 people killed, 560 injured and 12,000 homeless from Chincha Alta to Acari. Over 4,000 houses damaged or destroyed (VIII) at Nazca. Felt (VII) in the Marcona area; (VI) at Ica and Palpa; (IV) at Arequipa and Camana; (III) at Lima and Tacna; (II) at Huancayo and Pucallpa. Felt by people in high-rise buildings at Guyaquil, Ecuador and La Paz, Bolivia. Tsunami generated with maximum recorded wave heights (peak-to-trough) of 25 cm a Callao, Peru; 35 cm at Arica and 21 cm at Caldera, Chile. This thrust earthquake is associated with the subduction of the Nazca Ridge (a major feature of the Nazca plate) beneath the South American plate. It originated hear the southern end of a seismic gap between the large Peruvian earthquakes of August 24, 1942 and October 3, 1974, with the aftershock sequence progressing southward into the zone of the 1942 event. (reference #1053)

On November 21, the President of the Council of Ministers, Alberto Pandolfi, reported to the Congress of the Republic that 14 people had lost their lives, 624 were injured, 73,013 were displaced, 4,006 homes were destroyed, 11,071 homes were damaged, 91 educational facilities (damaged and destroyed), and 100 health centers were damaged. (reference #14506)

14 dead, 585 injured. (reference #1250)

The 12 November 1996 Mw 7.7 Peru earthquake occurred at the intersection of the Nazca Ridge and the Peru trench. The epicenter lies very close to, but slightly northwest of, the 24 August 1942 Peru earthquake […] The fact that the greatest damage was inflicted on Nazca rather than Ica can be interpreted several different ways. It is possible that Ica, as a larger city, has implemented seismic codes, and special design and construction practices in an attempt to reduce earthquake damage. Nazca may not have implemented these precautionary measures. Thus, Ica may have been subject to the same amount of ground motion without having experienced equivalent ensuing damage. Alternatively, we can surmise that Nazca sustained the greatest damage because the majority of seismic moment release occurred in that direction, i.e., to the southeast. We interpret these observations as additional evidence that the 1996 Peru event ruptured to the southeast and did not rupture northwest through the entire intersection of the Nazca Ridge and South American plate (reference #10082)