Earthquake in Peru

I don't know if anyone in this forum has been following the news on the earthquake in Peru last Wednesday -- I'm from Lima and all my family is there (all safe), hence my interest.

The epicenter of this magnitude 8 earthquake was about 90 miles southwest of Lima (in the Pacific Ocean), and smaller towns in front of the epicenter were most affected: around 500 dead, more than a 1000 injured, and thousands of people homeless. In one town, Pisco (a popular tourism destination because it is minutes away from a national natural and wildlife reserve, Paracas), some estimates put damaged buildings between 70 and 90% of all structures in the town.

I cannot get over how long this quake was. Some video clips of the quake posted in YouTube:

• Security cameras in stores
• In an office
• In the 8th floor of an apartment building - this clip was shot by a reporting team that was on assignment to interview the head of Lima's Elvis fan club.

There are some efforts in the US to collect donations, including Peru's Embassy and consulates.

pll, Thanks for sharing the links. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. I am glad that your family is safe. I was wondering if we have any TE'ers from Peru.

Glad your family is safe! What a scary thing...