On Saturday Evening a Shallow M5.5 Earthquake struck near Huancayo in Peru.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on July 19th, 2026. Last updated July 20th, 2026.

A shallow and significant MAG-5.5 earthquake struck under land 11 kilometer from Huancayo in Peru in the evening of Saturday July 18th, 2026. Earthquakes like this can cause significant economic damage and have a significant risk at casualties.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Peru, 11 kilometer (7 mi) west of Huancayo in Junin. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jul 18, 2026 21:24 (Lima Time) - Jul 19, 2026 02:24 Universal Time.
Location:	11 km west of Huancayo, Junin, Peru. Coordinates 12°2'34"S 75°18'5"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 24 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.063 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VIII Severe On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Significant impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 49% likelyhood of between 10 and 100 fatalities, and a 95% chance that the number of fatalities falls between 1 and 1,000.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 42% likelyhood of between 10 and 100 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 90% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls between 1 and 1,000 million USD.

Roughly 14 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 14 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

An estimated 459,100 people were exposed to level VII. At this level, very strong shaking and likely moderate damage can be expected. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 13 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Peru .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
378,000	II	Very weak	None
12,970,000	III	Weak	Probably none
324,100	IV	Light	Likely none
85,640	V	Moderate	Very light
154,900	VI	Strong	Light
459,100	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Peru . Located 11 kilometer (7 mi) west of the epicenter of this earthquake, Huancayo (Junin, Peru) is the nearest significant population center. Huancayo experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly VII. That level implies very strong shaking and likely moderate damage.

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Lima is located 188 km to the west and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Huancayo is located 11 km to the east and experienced an intensity of VII (very strong shaking, likely moderate damage). Callao is located 198 km to the west and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
11 km (7 mi) E from epicenter	Huancayo Junin, Peru.	VII Very Strong
12 km (7 mi) SE from epicenter	Chilca Junin, Peru.	VI Strong
37 km (23 mi) NW from epicenter	Jauja Junin, Peru.	IV Light
81 km (50 mi) NW from epicenter	Tarma Junin, Peru.	IV Light
87 km (54 mi) NW from epicenter	La Oroya Junin, Peru.	III Weak
90 km (56 mi) SE from epicenter	Huancavelica Huancavelica, Peru.	IV Light
114 km (71 mi) NE from epicenter	Satipo Junin, Peru.	III Weak
124 km (77 mi) NW from epicenter	Junín Junin, Peru.	III Weak
133 km (83 mi) N from epicenter	Santa Rosa Junin, Peru.	III Weak
151 km (94 mi) SE from epicenter	Huanta Ayacucho, Peru.	III Weak
154 km (96 mi) W from epicenter	Chosica Lima Region, Peru.	III Weak
159 km (99 mi) SW from epicenter	Nuevo Imperial Lima Region, Peru.	III Weak
160 km (99 mi) SW from epicenter	Mala Lima Region, Peru.	III Weak
161 km (100 mi) SW from epicenter	Imperial Lima Region, Peru.	III Weak
164 km (102 mi) SW from epicenter	San Vicente de Cañete Lima Region, Peru.	III Weak
171 km (106 mi) SE from epicenter	Ayacucho Ayacucho, Peru.	III Weak
177 km (110 mi) SW from epicenter	Chincha Alta Ica, Peru.	III Weak
182 km (113 mi) W from epicenter	Santa Anita - Los Ficus Lima Region, Peru.	III Weak
185 km (115 mi) NW from epicenter	Cerro de Pasco Pasco, Peru.	III Weak
185 km (115 mi) W from epicenter	San Francisco De Borja Lima Region, Peru.	III Weak
185 km (115 mi) NW from epicenter	Yanacancha Pasco, Peru.	III Weak
186 km (116 mi) W from epicenter	Santiago de Surco Lima Region, Peru.	III Weak
188 km (117 mi) W from epicenter	Lima Lima Region, Peru.	III Weak
189 km (117 mi) W from epicenter	San Isidro Lima Region, Peru.	III Weak
190 km (118 mi) W from epicenter	Breña Lima Region, Peru.	III Weak
190 km (118 mi) W from epicenter	Jesus Maria Lima Region, Peru.	III Weak
195 km (121 mi) W from epicenter	Carmen De La Legua Reynoso Callao, Peru.	III Weak
198 km (123 mi) W from epicenter	Callao Callao, Peru.	III Weak
203 km (126 mi) SW from epicenter	San Clemente Ica, Peru.	III Weak
210 km (130 mi) SW from epicenter	Pisco Ica, Peru.	III Weak
216 km (134 mi) W from epicenter	Huaral Lima Region, Peru.
220 km (137 mi) W from epicenter	Chancay Lima Region, Peru.
222 km (138 mi) NW from epicenter	Chaupimarca Pasco, Peru.	II Weak
230 km (143 mi) S from epicenter	Ica Ica, Peru.
248 km (154 mi) NW from epicenter	Yanacancha Huanuco, Peru.	II Weak
256 km (159 mi) NW from epicenter	Huánuco Huanuco, Peru.
272 km (169 mi) W from epicenter	Huacho Lima Region, Peru.
273 km (170 mi) W from epicenter	Hualmay Lima Region, Peru.
273 km (170 mi) NW from epicenter	Huaura Lima Region, Peru.
274 km (170 mi) SE from epicenter	Andahuaylas Apurímac, Peru.
295 km (183 mi) E from epicenter	Santa Ana Cusco, Peru.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 11 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 11 people have reported shaking in 5 places, all within Peru.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Chupaca, Junín, Peru: 4 people.
Huancayo, Junín, Peru: 4 people.
Sicaya, Junín, Peru: 1 person.
Lima, Lima Provincias, Peru: 1 person.
Santa María, Lima Provincias, Peru: 1 person.

Risk of aftershocks?

This earthquake did not have any significant foreshocks nor aftershocks occurring within 100km (62 mi) of its epicenter.

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since May 19th, 2026, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 240 km (149 mi) further south. An even stronger magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck on October 28th, 2022.

In total, 15 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 8 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.5. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 20/07/26 16:18 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.