When a quake becomes a catastrophe
High spirits during the earthquake drill on Friday morning. Schools, universities and public institutions all over the country took part in the training. In Curahuasi, the population remained completely relaxed. And in fact, no earth tremors have been recorded in Cusco (about 80 km from Curahuasi as the crow flies) in the last 24 hours. However, during the first five months of the current year, 22 earthquakes with a magnitude of up to 5.4 on the Richter scale have already occurred in Cusco.
Cusco was hit by devastating earthquakes at the beginning of the 15th century and in 1650, 1950, 1970 and 1986. Around 70,000 people in Peru died in the severe earthquake of 1970 with its epicenter in the state of Ancash. And those who know the history of Diospi Suyana know that in 2007 – just two weeks before the inauguration of our hospital – 500 Peruvians died in an earthquake. Until the very end it remained unclear whether Diospi Suyana would be able to celebrate a festival at all in the wake of the national tragedy.
So we prepare ourselves to help as quickly as possible in the event of an emergency. /KDJ
