Word: peru
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Walter Oyarce has one of those jobs that no one wants. He heads a brigade that is clearing debris from last week's earthquake that devastated this city and several others on Peru's central coast. He directs bulldozers along narrow streets, scooping up the remains of homes built years ago out of a mix of mud bricks and bamboo-like reeds. The clean-up sends clouds of dust into the air, recalling for residents the immediate aftermath of the 8.0-magnitude earthquake that struck early in the evening...
...tents set up in parks and city squares. Blue-plastic tents dot the landscape from the beach town of Cerro Azul, made famous in the Beach Boys song "Surfin' Safari," to the city of Ica, 160 miles south of Lima, the capital. Major landmarks that identify this part of Peru have been lost. Centuries old churches collapsed, museums in Pisco and Ica are now little more than debris. Even natural rock formations, including one known as the Cathedral popular among tourists, are gone, plunging into...
Tapia, like many Peruvians here and abroad, was unable to reach her family by phone, due to the collapse of the country's telephone system. Service was still iffy at mid-day Thursday. Garcia singled out Peru's telecom companies during his radio address, complaining that since the country is located in an earthquake belt, they have less excuse for not keeping their systems prepared for temblors. He ordered Transportation and Communication Minister Veronica Zavala to hold emergency meetings with the firms to resolve the problem...
...quake also destroyed some stretches of the Pan-American Highway, which runs along the Pacific coast and is Peru's principal highway - as well as the link between Lima and Ica. Other major roadways, like the Central Highway, which connects the capital to the country's breadbasket in the central highlands, were also damaged...
...Peru is located in a geologically unstable zone, noted for earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. This temblor was caused by the Nazca Plate, located under the Pacific Ocean, sliding under the continental South American Plate. A similar earthquake, with a 7.5-magnitude, struck the same area...