The Pacific Ring of Fire has been extremely active as numerous regions were rocked by powerful earthquakes. This activity can be typical for the area, as the Ring of Fire is known for frequent seismic and volcanic events during periods of heightened activity.
SICAYA, Peru – A powerful earthquake rattled Peru’s Andes region overnight, killing at least five people and leaving hundreds displaced, according to officials.
FOX News Digital reports that homes and a church collapsed due to the magnitude 5.5 earthquake, and an unknown number of people remain missing.
MAGNITUDE 3.3 EARTHQUAKE RATTLES YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK NEAR INFAMOUS SUPERVOLCANO
The earthquake struck around 9:20 p.m., and it happened at a depth of roughly 6.2 miles about a mile away from Sicaya, which is in central Peru, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Reports of shaking due to a magnitude 5.5 earthquake near Sicaya, Peru, on July 18, 2026.
(USGS / FOX Weather)
Peru’s National Civil Defense Institute said more than 20 people have been injured and at least 300 residents have been forced from their homes.
Officials are still trying to account for missing residents after several buildings collapsed or were left unsafe, including a local church and convent, according to FOX News Digital.
Authorities said the region’s widespread use of traditional adobe construction likely made the damage worse. Luis Vásquez, head of the local civil defense office, said the rustic building materials “contributed to the greater impact and damage,” FOX News Digital reported.
Aerial view of Chacapampa village in the Peruvian Andes
(Leonid Andronov / Getty Images)
Shaking from the earthquake was reported all across the country, including in Lima, the country’s capital.
Peru is smack-dab in the middle of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which has seen a lot of earthquakes lately.
UNDERSTANDING THE PACIFIC RING OF FIRE: WHERE EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES MEET
The Ring of Fire is the most seismically and volcanically active region on Earth, with frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions caused by the movement of these tectonic plates.
Since 1900, numerous magnitude 8.0 earthquakes have occurred in the region, which were followed by devastating tsunamis, including the 1960 magnitude 9.5 earthquake in southern Chile, the largest recorded quake in the world, according to the USGS.
Urubamba Sacred Valley of Incas in Peru, South America
(Sergey Strelkov / Getty Images)
That megaquake and its subsequent Pacific-wide tsunamis killed thousands of people, left two million homeless and caused widespread devastation as far away as Japan and Hawaii, according to officials.
Other notable shallow tsumani-generating earthquakes include the 1906 magnitude 8.5 quake near Esmeraldas, Ecuador, the 1922 magnitude 8.5 quake near Coquimbo, Chile and the 2007 magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck the coastal province of Pisco.
