Journal of Seismology (2006)

DOI: 10.1007/s10950-006-9014-2 
C Springer 2006

The southern region of Peru earthquake of June 23rd, 2001

Hernando Tavera, Efraı́n Fernández, Isabel Bernal, Yanet Antayhua, Consuelo Agüero,
Henry Salas Simeón Rodrı́guez, Luis Vilcapoma, Yolanda Zamudio, David Portugal,
Adolfo Inza, Julia Carpio, Freddy Ccallo & Igor Valdivia
Centro Nacional de Datos Geofı́sicos – Sismologia, Instituto Geofı́sico del Perú, Calle Badajoz 169, Urb.
Mayorazgo IV Etapa, Ate, Lima, Perú
e-mail: hjtavera@geo.igp.gob.pe

(Received 25 March 2004; accepted in revised form 18 November 2005)

Key words: Arequipa earthquake, focal mechanism, intensity, reverse faulting, subduction, Tsunami

Abstract
The western border of South America is one of the most important seismogenic regions in the world. In this
region the most damaging earthquake ever recorded occurred. In June 23rd, 2001, another very strong earthquake
(Mw = 8.1–8.2) occurred and produced death and damages in the whole southern region of Peru. This earthquake
was originated by a friction process between Nazca and South American plates and affected an area of about 300 km
×120 km defined by the distribution of more than 220 aftershocks recorded by a local seismic network that operated
20 days. The epicenter of the main shock was localized in the northwestern extremity of the aftershock area, which
suggests that the rupture propagated towards the SE direction. The modeling of P-wave for teleseismic distances
permitted to define a focal mechanism of reverse type with NW-SE oriented nodal planes and a possible fault plane
moving beneath almost horizontally in NE direction. The source time function (STF) suggests a complex process
of rupture during 85 sec with 2 successive sources. The second one of greater size, and located approximately
100–120 km toward the SE direction was estimated to have a rupture velocity of about 2 km/sec on a 28◦ -dipping
plane to the SE (N135◦ ). A second event happened 45 sec after the first one with an epicenter 130km farther to the
SE and a complex STF. This event and the second source of the main shock caused a Tsunami with waves from 7
to 8 meters that propagated almost orthogonally to the coast line, by affecting mainly the Camaná area.
Three of all the aftershocks presented magnitudes greater or equal to Mw = 6.6, two of them occurred in front of
the cities of Ilo and Mollendo (June 26th and July 7th) with focal mechanisms similar to the main seismic event.
The aftershock of July 5th shows a normal mechanism at a depth of 75 km, and is therefore most likely located
within the subducting Nazca plate and not in the coupling. The aftershocks of June 26th (Mw = 6.6) and July
5th (Mw = 6.6) show simple short duration STF. The aftershock of July 7th (Mw = 7.5) with 27-second duration
suggests a complex process of energy release with the possible occurrence of a secondary shock with lower focal
depth and focal mechanism of inverse type with a great lateral component. Simple and composed focal mechanisms
were elaborated for the aftershocks and all have similar characteristics to the main earthquake.
The earthquake of June 23rd caused major damages in the whole southern Peru. The damage in towns of Arequipa,
Moquegua allow to consider maximum intensities from 6 to 7 (MSK79). In Alto de la Alianza and Ciudad Nueva
zones from Tacna, the maximum intensity was of 7− (MSK79).

Introduction due to the occurrence of major seismic events at var-

ious depths. Peru, located in this zone, experienced
The western border of South America is considered six seismic events during the last century with mag-
to be one of the most dangerous zones in the world, nitudes of about Mw = 7.0 (Beck and Ruff, 1989;
Beck y Nishenko, 1990; Tavera and Bernal, 2004), be-
ing all their epicenters located in central Peru. In the
other regions, the number of major magnitude earth-
quakes is lower. Nevertheless, on June 23rd, 2001
(Mw = 8.2) and after 133 years, the southern region
of Peru was affected by a major earthquake that caused
death and destruction. This event took place in the
500 km-long segment identified by MacCann et al.
(1979) y Nishenko (1991) as one of the largest seismic
gaps in the world. In 1868, one of the most harmful
earthquakes known in Peru occurred in this area. Pre-
vious studies (Figure 1) make possible to consider that
the most destructive earthquakes of the 19th century,
along the western South American border, occurred in
1868 and 1877 (Dorbath et al., 1990; Comte and Pardo,
1991). Both events had estimated Mw = 9.0 magni-
tudes and rupture lengths of about 500 km. The first
one occurred in southern Peru, and the second one in
northern Chile. On the contrary, during the 20th cen-
tury, the occurrence of major earthquakes was more
frequent in central Peru and in central-southern Chile
(Mw > 7.5), being well defined the areas considered
by McCann et al., (1979) and Nishenko (1985, 1991) as
those corresponding to seismic gaps with high potential
that could give rise to other catastrophic earthquakes
in the future.
The epicenter distribution of high magnitude earth-
quakes in southern Peru, before the occurrence of the
earthquake of June 23rd, 2001 is reported on Figure 2
(time period 1990–2000, mb > 6.0). It can be seen that
inter-plate earthquakes are concentrated in two groups.
The first one is localized south to the rupture area of
1877 and corresponds to the area affected by an earth-
quake that occurred in Chile in May 1995 (Mw = 8.0).
The second one is localized in the northern extremity
of the ruptured area of 1868 and corresponds to the
earthquake that occurred in Peru in November 1996
(Mw = 7.7). Between both earthquakes, there is a to-
tal absence of other shallow focus earthquakes (h< 60
km). On the other hand, earthquakes with intermediate
focal depths, due to internal deformation within Nazca
plate, are distributed from north to south at the east-
ern border of ruptured areas of 1868 and 1877 earth-
quakes. In the same way, and more toward the East (near
the Peru-Bolivia border), a great magnitude earthquake
(Mw = 9.0) with a 670-km depth focus took place in
June, 1994. The earthquakes of 1995 and 1996 were
produced by compression forces due to the conver-
gence of plates, and the earthquake of 1994 by stress
forces due to the internal deformation of the oceanic
plate that still subducts at such depth levels. The spatio-
temporal characteristics of each of these earthquakes
indicate that the inter-plate contact is the site of ma-
jor accumulation of elastic energy that could give rise
to high magnitude earthquakes like those of 1868 and
1877.
As previously stated, on June 23rd, 2001, after 133
years, the southern region of Peru was affected with
the occurrence of a great magnitude earthquake that
caused the death of 75 persons, 700 injured persons
and around 200,000 victims. The hypocentral parame-
ters of the earthquake of June 23rd, 2001 and a series of
aftershocks registered by a local network are analyzed
in this study. Likewise, this document defines the ori-
entation and characteristics of the seismic source as
from the modeling of the volume waves in the far field.
The source parameters are obtained as from the spectral
analysis, and the characteristics of the local Tsunami
are discussed based on the information gathered in situ.
The distribution of damages and effects produced by
the earthquakes in the cities of Arequipa, Moquegua
and Tacna are analyzed based on the information gath-
ered in the affected area and interpreted by using the
MSK79 scale.
Hypocenter parameters and aftershocks
Hypocenter parameters for the seismic event of June
23rd and its 220 aftershocks have been relocalized with
information of 4 seismic stations of the National Seis-
mic Network of Peru and 8 stations installed just after
the earthquake occurrence, being all of them broad-
band stations with three components. The temporary
seismic network operated between June 28th and July
15th, 2001 (Table 1). The relocalized aftershocks were
registered and/or identified in not more than 7 stations
and not less than 4 stations, having the same number
of P and S phases in each case. The hypocenter param-
eters were calculated with the Hypoinverse algorithm
(Klein, 1978); the velocity model in Table 2 is the one
used by Lindo et al. (1992) and Lindo (1993) to localize
seismicity recorded by a local network along the west-
ern border in the Central region of Peru and in south-
ern Peru by Grange et al. (1984). The Vp/Vs = 1.78
is calculated from about 800 aftershock arrival times.
Aftershock magnitudes are estimated using the records
time duration and the Klein relation (Klein, 1978). The
hypocenter parameters are reported in this study with
errors of less than 3.5 km.
According to our results (Figure 3), the hypocen-
tral parameters obtained for the main earthquake dif-
fer a little from the one initially presented by Tavera
Figure 1. Spatial distribution of the rupture areas of the main earthquakes occurred in the western border of South America during the XIX and
XX century (Peru and Chile). The major axis length of the shadowed areas are proportional to the rupture dimensions. The values in parenthesis
state the earthquake Mw magnitude.

et al. (2002) and allow to localize the epicenter at a
50 km distance to the WSW from the one reported by
the Geological Survey Preliminary Report. The seis-
mic focus depth was estimated in 23 km. The Geo-
physical Institute of Peru reported a ML(d) = 6.9 mag-
nitude obtained as from the earthquake record duration
in 3 stations located at 550 km medium distances and
then, such magnitude was re-calculated by using shal-
low waves in Ms = 7.8.
Figure 3 shows the spatial distribution, between the
coast line and the trench, of 220 aftershocks that de-
fine a rectangular 300 × 120 km2 area. If the main
earthquake epicenter location and the aftershocks area
geometry is considered, it is evident that the rup-
ture process was propagated on an heterogeneous ba-
sis toward the SE direction, as from the locality of
Ocoña in the Department of Arequipa up to Ilo in
Moquegua. In contrast to the NW extremity of the af-
Figure 2. Spatial distribution of the earthquakes with mb ≥ 6.0 occurred in the southern region of Peru and the North of Chile between years
1990 and 2000 (data from the NEIC). The broken lines circle the rupture areas of the earthquakes of 1868 and 1877. The black arrow indicates
the plates convergence direction and the gray one, the rupture length of the earthquake of 2001.

Table 1. Seismological stations used in this study: local and regional Table 2. Source velocity structures used in hypocenter determina-
ones tion and waveform inversion

Site name Station Latitude Longitude Elevation Espezor Vp (km/sec)

Bella Unión, Arequipa BUN −15.444◦ −74.646◦ 234 0.0 6.0

msnm 20.0 6.8
Tocota, Arequipa TCT −15.659◦ −74.091◦ 1006 40.0 8.0
Tanaka, Arequipa TNK −15.754◦ −74.452◦ 182
Caraveli, Arequipa CAR −15.763◦ −73.372◦ 1879
Quilca, Arequipa QLC −16.717◦ −72.426◦ 106
tershock area, in SE direction, its distribution states
Ocoña, Arequipa OCO −16.429◦ −73.109◦ 48
that the rupture process would have abruptly stopped
Aplao, Arequipa APL −16.074◦ −72.489◦ 667
in front of the locality of Ilo with the occurrence of
Pocoma, Moquegua PCM −17.432◦ −71.374◦ 196
two great magnitude aftershocks (Mw = 6.6, 7.5), char-
San Gregorio, Arequipa SGR −16.570◦ −72.715◦ 161
acteristics that suggest an important barrier presence.
La Yarada, Tacna LYAR −18.135◦ −70.585◦ 363
The total of aftershocks are distributed by forming 3
Toquepala, Tacna TOQ −17.307◦ −70.643◦ 2586
groups: one around the epicenter of the main earth-
Misti, Arequipa MIS −16.301 −71.430◦ 4486
quake (GROUP1), another near the trench (GROUP2)
Figure 3. Spatial distribution of the relocalized epicenters of the main earthquake and series of aftershocks dated June 23rd, 2001. The focal
mechanisms obtained as from the modeling of volume waves and P waves polarity (represented in the lower hemisphere of the focal sphere).
The diagonal stripe area corresponds to the aftershocks of the earthquake of November 1996 (Tavera et al., 1998) and the shadowed one to the
area that would have not experienced rupture during the earthquake dated June 23rd. The broken line states the different aftershocks groups. The
lower part presents a vertical section for the aftershocks which orientation is stated with A–B. The triangles state the temporary seismic stations
in this study. The earthquake date and magnitude is stated over each focal mechanism, as well as a code so that it could be identified in the text.

and the third one in SE direction between the lo-
calities of Camana and Ilo (GROUP3). From these
groups, GROUP1 presents more aftershocks, being all
of them concentrated around the epicenter of the main
earthquake. In general, among the aftershocks groups,
the presence of an area that would have not expe-
rienced rupture during the earthquake could be ob-
served, and it could be considered as an asperity or
if this not be the case, the plates displacement would
have been produced on an aseismic way in this area
(shadowed area in Figure 3). Both hypothesis are valid
when considering that the earthquake of June 23 had
a complex rupture process over a very heterogeneous
surface.
From all the aftershocks (Figure 3), three had high
magnitudes and were produced at different distances
from the main earthquake, and they caused secondary
damages in previously damaged housing, and also gen-
erated panic and desperation in the population that
thought a bigger disaster would take place. From these
aftershocks, the one taken place on June 26th, with a
Mw = 6.0 magnitude had its epicenter at 36 km west-
ward with regard to the locality of Ilo, where V in-
tensities in the Modified Mercalli scale (MM) were
produced. The aftershock of July 5th with a Mw = 6.6
magnitude, had its epicenter at 79 km at NE direction
with regard to the main earthquake, by producing V
(MM) intensities in the localities of Atico, Ocoña and
Caraveli in Arequipa, and the aftershock of July 7th
with a Mw = 7.5 magnitude took place at 54 km at
SW direction as from the locality of Mollendo, where
it produced V (MM) intensities. The other aftershocks
had ML magnitudes, ranging from 2.4 to 4.8, and only
some of them could be noticed at surface.
According to the vertical section (Figure 3), after-
shocks are distributed in depth by following an ap-
parent line with a 28◦ inclination up to around 60 km
of depth, being these values coherent with the geom-
etry of the subduction process in this region. A small
group of aftershocks are located in continent around the
Figure 4. Simple and composed focal mechanisms elaborated as from the P-wave polarity for the three groups of aftershocks shown in Figure 3.
The areas with black circles indicate compression, and the white ones, dilatation. P and T correspond to the pressure and tension axis.
epicenter of the main earthquake, which suggests that
the occurrence of small deformations could give rise
to other moderate-magnitude earthquakes after some
time.
Focal mechanisms
The focal mechanisms of the main earthquake and
higher magnitude aftershocks were obtained by Tavera
et al. (2002) as from the characteristics of the first P-
wave polarity, being all of them of inverse type with
nodal planes oriented in NW-SE direction and an al-
most horizontal possible fault plane moving beneath
in NE directions. Solutions are coherent with regional
deformation pattern as a result of the plates conver-
gence. The aftershock of July 5th only corresponds to
a normal-type mechanism with the possible fault plane
moving beneath with higher angle at a NE direction.
This aftershock occurs at a higher depth (∼60 km) and
the author states that it would have been produced due
to the internal deformation of the ocean plate under the
continent.
In the case of the other aftershocks of earthquake
dated June 23rd, we have elaborated some composed
focal mechanisms by using the Brillinger logarithm
(Brillinger et al., 1980) logarithm and the polarity of
the first P-wave impulse in the vertical component
(Figure 4). Based on the above-described regrouping
of the aftershocks, GROUP1 has been divided into 3
groups (G11, G12 y G13) and for each of them, a com-
posed focal mechanism has been elaborated, being all
of them of inverse type with nodal planes oriented to-
ward the same direction of the main earthquake, how-
ever groups G12 and G13 have a small strike-slip com-
ponent. In the case of GROUP2, the orientation of the
composed focal mechanism is similar to the one of the
main earthquake. In the case of GROUP3, 4 simple fo-
cal mechanisms have been elaborated considering the
aftershocks with more polarity data, being all solutions
similar to the main earthquake one. In general the de-
formation pattern over all the aftershocks area was ap-
proximately the same one.
Spectral analysis
Before the modeling of volume waves, the spectral
analysis of the main earthquake and of its three higher
magnitude aftershocks will be carried out by using for
each of them, 6 P-waves records at teleseismic dis-
tances (IRIS network). In general, for a circular frac-
ture model, the parameters of the earthquakes source
could be estimated as from two of the characteristics
of the amplitude spectrum, the frequency corner (fc)
and its flat part (O ) The f c value is reversely propor-
tional to the source dimensions (r0 = f c−1 ); while, O
is proportional to the scalar seismic moment (Hansk
and Wyss, 1972). If a complete effort drop is consid-
ered, the seismic moment is defined as (Keilis-Borok,
1959):
Mo(P) = 4π.ρ.α 3 .0 (P).R/Rθφ (P)
and the source dimensions (Brune, 1970): r (P) =
2.34α/2π f c (P)
where, α is the wave velocity of the P-wave, ρ the
medium density, O (P) the spectrum flat part, R the
epicentral distance, Rθφ the P-wave radiation pattern,
and f c (P) the frequency corner.
The P-wave records of each station were corrected
by their instrumental response, attenuation and radia-
tion pattern by following the procedure described by
Houston and Kanamori (1986). In order to extract the
maximum information on the rupture process, the P-
wave records have not been filtered. Once the scalar
seismic moment be known, the Mw magnitude was es-
timated with the following Mw = (3/2) log Mo −10.7
relation (Kanamori, 1977).
Figure 5 shows some examples of the displacement
amplitude for the main earthquake and major magni-
tude aftershocks. The values for the seismic moment
and radius fracture correspond to the average of values
obtained for the spectrum flat part and for the frequency
corner. For the main earthquake, a seismic moment of
1.2 ± 0.1 × 1021 Nm equivalent to a Mw = 8.2 magni-
tude is obtained; and for the aftershocks of June 26th, a
seismic moment of 1.8 ± 0.3 × 1019 Nm (Mw = 6.8);
for the aftershock of July 5th, a seismic moment of
7.2 ± 0.4 × 1018 Nm (Mw = 6.5); and for the after-
shock of July 7th, a seismic moment of 2.0 ± 0.3 × 1020
Nm (Mw = 7.5). The fracture radius for the main earth-
quake would be of the order of 100 km, lower to the
one proposed as from the spatial distribution of the af-
tershocks, but could be equivalent to the dimensions
of the area affected only by the earthquake. The major
magnitude aftershocks have 20, 18 and 50 km fracture
radius, respectively (Table 3).
Modeling of P-wave
The waveform and amplitude of P-wave were finally
used to estimate the source orientation, the focal depth,
the seismic moment and the time function of the seis-
mic source when using the inversion method proposed
by Nabelek (1984). The P-wave recorded on broad-
band stations localized at distances between 30◦ and
90◦ were compared with waveforms of the synthetic
records generated by the combination of direct phases
(P-wave) and reflected phases (pP and sP) that were
originated in the focal area and propagated with a deter-
mined velocity in an homogeneous structure. The am-
plitudes are adjusted considering the geometric spread-
ing factor and the attenuation (Futerman, 1962) with
t ∗ = 1 second for the P waves. The fit between the
observed and synthetic traces is minimized with half
mean square. The inversion allows the estimation of
the source parameters (azimuth, dip and slip angle).
The depth and source time function are calculated with
a series of triangles that overlap (Nabelek, 1984) and
which number and duration are previously selected.
In order to estimate the source parameters, the
process described by McCaffrey and Nabelek (1987),
Molnar and Lyon-Caen (1989), Taymaz et al. (1991)
and Tavera and Buforn (2001) was followed. For elab-
orating the model, the parameters have been standard-
ized to a 5000 amplitude and to a 40◦ epicenter dis-
tance. The parameters that define the source orienta-
tion from the focal mechanism of the main shock and
aftershocks of great magnitude were initially fixed by
using the P-wave polarity of Tavera et al. (2002), and
Figure 5. P-wave amplitude spectrums at teleseismic distances elaborated for the main earthquake and aftershocks of major magnitude. In
parenthesis, next to the station code, the epicentral distance and the azimuth in degrees are indicated.  = flat part of the spectrum and f c,
frequency corner. Under each spectrum, the used seismic signal window of each spectrum.

the hypocenter parameters reported by the IGP. After
each inversion step, a visual check of the fit between
the synthetic and observed records was carried out, in
order to evaluate the uncertainty of each parameter un-
til the lower values for the RMS of the fit that should
correspond to the best solution be obtained.
Main shock
In order to model the amplitudes and waveforms of
the main shock, 9 P-wave records were used. The final
solution is presented in Figure 6, but before dealing
the results, it is necessary to describe the process that
was followed. In general, when carrying out a compar-
ison between each main earthquake record based on
the azimuthal distribution of the stations around the fo-
cal sphere, it could be observed that the waveforms are
very complex and even more in the records of DBIC,
BOSA and ANMO stations. In order to propose vari-
ous possible solutions, one test with 6 data set shall be
carried out, being the results shown in Figure 7. Line 3
of this figure shows the solution obtained after a certain
number of iterations, in which it could be seen that for
all the data sets, it is possible to model the first arrival
of the signal and pulses localized about 85 sec. In order
to achieve a model for the whole signal, the possible
rupture propagation toward the SE was considered, as
suggested by the spatial distribution of aftershocks. In
that sense, various inversion processes are carried out
by considering several values for the rupture propaga-
tion values, rupture plane inclination, rupture velocity
and focus depth. The results obtained for each param-
eter, based on the RMS solution are shown in Figure 8.
According to the lower RMS, the rupture process starts
at a 29 km depth and is propagated at N135◦ direction
over a sloped surface in 28◦ NE and with a 2 km/second
velocity. The orientation and inclination of the rupture
plane is coherent with the geometry of the aftershocks
area and with the friction surface of the plates; however,
the rupture velocity is very low, but this would explain
the great duration of the earthquake and its complexity.
The synthetic data generated with these new param-
eters allow modeling almost the whole P-waves record
(line 2, Figure 7), but it is still not possible to completely
 Table 3. Source parameters of earthquake and great aftershock of June 23rd, 2001 obtained from hypocenter determination,
body wave inversion and spectral analysis.

Time Latitude Longitude Depth Magnitude Mo Source

Mainshock 20:33:13.0 −16.15◦ −73.40◦ 33 8.4 Mw NEIC

June 23, 2001 This study
E1 20:23:00.1 −16.31◦ −73.82◦ 29 8.1 Mw 1.3 × 1021 Nm Wf
E2 20:23:46.7 −16.82◦ −72.31◦ 39 7.6 Mw 2.8 × 1020 Nm Wf
8.1 Mw 1.2 × 1021 Nm Sa
Aftershock 04:18:31.6 −17.73◦ −71.34◦ 31 6.8 Mw NEIC
June 26, 2001 This study
04:18:32.3 −17.74◦ −71.64◦ 32 6.6 Mw 1.2 × 1019 Nm Wf
6.8 Mw 1.8 × 1019 Nm Sa
◦ ◦
Aftershock 13:53:49.7 −15.56 −73.45 69 6.6 Mw NEIC
July 5, 2001 This study
13.53:50.0 −17.75◦ −73.45◦ 75 6.6 Mw 1.1 × 1019 Nm Wf
6.5 Mw 7.2 × 1018 Nm Sa
Aftershock 09:58:43.0 −17.38◦ −71.78◦ 26 7.5 Mw NEIC
July 7, 2001 This study
E1 09:38:37.0 −17.46◦ −72.03◦ 18 7.6 Mw 3.4 × 1020 Nm Wf
E2 09:38:48.0 −17.85◦ −72.56◦ 12 7.5 Mw 2.0 × 1020 Nm Wf
7.5 Mw 2.1 × 1020 Nm Sa

Wf = P-waveforms, Sa = Spectral Analysis, ϕ ◦ , δ ◦ = Strike/Dip, P1, P2 = nodal planes.

model the records of the ANMO and CCM stations. In
order to model their waveforms, the possible occur-
rence of another earthquake showing the same focal
mechanism trend shall be considered. Consequently,
the inversion process was carried out by setting every
parameter of the first source and leaving free those cor-
responding to the second one. After various iterations,
stable solutions were reached with RMS = 17, and the
results appear on line 1, Figure 7. It can be seen that
the fit between synthetic and observed records is much
better. According to Figure 6, the focal mechanism of
both earthquakes are a reverse fault with nodal planes
trending NW-SE with slightly different dip of the fault
plane. The focal depth of the first shock is 29 km and
of the second one increases to 10 km.
These results suggest that the main shock has been
generated by the occurrence of three ruptures that prop-
agated toward the SE (N135◦ ) on an 28◦ dipping plane
and with a velocity of about 2 km/seg. This value for
the rupture propagation velocity is close to the one pro-
posed by Salden et al. (2004) based on seismic tomog-
raphy studies (1.6 km/second), and in general, are sim-
ilar to the ones observed for the Tsunamis earthquakes.
The total duration of the whole process was about 85
seconds and the third rupture was the most important.
It was produced in a SE direction on a mean length
of 100 km from the main shock. 45 sec after the start
of the main shock, a second one was produced along
the same propagation trend of the rupture. Following
the STF, this shock has generated three small ruptures
in a time period of approximately 40 sec. The seis-
mic moment for the first shock is about 1.3 × 1021 Nm
(Mw = 8.1) and for the second one of about 2.8 × 1020
Nm (Mw = 7.6). The summary of results appears in
Table 3.
Aftershocks of June 26th
Figure 9 shows the solution for the aftershock of June
26, using 10 P-waves records. The inversion process
has been initiated by setting the focal orientation ob-
tained by Tavera et al. (2002) and leaving free the focus
depth and the temporary function of the STF seismic
source. After various iterations, the best fit between
synthetic and observed is achieved with RMS = 14.
The solution corresponds to a focal mechanism with
a similar trend to the main shock with a plane fault dip-
ping 21◦ to the east. The focal depth is fitted to 32km.
The STF is simple with a duration of about 5 seconds
and a seismic moment of 1.19 × 1019 Nm, equivalent
Figure 6. Forms of the synthetic wave (synt) and observed ones (obs) corresponding to the main earthquake and obtained in the inversion
process according to the Nabelek methodology (1984). The amplitude of the records have been normalized at a 5000 gain and at a 40◦ distance.
The inversion window is stated with vertical lines over the records. The station code is in the left extremity of the record, being the epicentral
distance and azimuth in degrees under the code. The focal sphere corresponds to its projection in the lower hemisphere, being the P and T axis
represented by black and white circles. The STF is presented under the focal mechanism, as well as the scale of the records. In the upper part, the
focal mechanisms corresponding to the two seismic events (E1, E2) are shown as well as the solution according to Tavera et al. (2002) as from
the P wave polarity (TB). The figure of the upper left corner shows the epicentral location of the two seismic events associated to the rupture
process of the earthquake of June 23rd, 2001.

to a Mw = 6.6 magnitude. The summary of results ap-
pears in Table 3.
Aftershock of July 5
In order to model the aftershock of July 5th, 6 records
of P-wave were used and the results are shown in
Figure 10. A preliminary analysis of those records al-
lows the observation of a difference in time arrivals be-
tween P and pP of about 18 sec equivalent to a bigger
focal depth of 60 km (Figure 10). The iterative process
begins considering the source orientation obtained by
Tavera et al. (2002) and leaving free the focal depth
and STF. After various iterations, the obtained solu-
tions did not achieve a good fit between the synthetic
and observed records, mainly for the CMB and PAS
stations; thus the slip angle was left free and proceeded
new iterations. The final solution corresponds to a 0.23
Figure 7. Results obtained in the test carried out during the inversion process for the main earthquake. The solution of line 3 corresponds to the
synthetic-observed adjustment considering the orientation for the source according to Tavera et al. (2002); line 2 corresponds to the solution by
assuming the unilateral propagation of the rupture in SE direction and line 1, considering the occurrence of a second event and that corresponds
to the final solution for the earthquake of June 23rd, 2001. The arrows indicate the stretch of the record which synthetic-observed correlation
improves in each stage of the test.

Figure 8. Results of the test carried out for evaluating different values for the rupture propagation direction, plane slope and rupture velocity,
besides the depth of the focus corresponding to the earthquake of June 23rd, 2001.

RMS, and the first impulses of all the records could be phases PcP due to epicenter distances between 92◦ and
modeled, even the starts emerging from ESK, PAB and 94◦ . The solution corresponds to a normal type mecha-
VSL stations but not the following greater amplitude nism with nodal planes trending toward NW-SE, and a
pulses, those ones that could correspond to reflected possible fault plane, dipping to NE. This solution dif-
Figure 9. Synthetic (synt) and observed waves (obs) corresponding to the aftershock of June 26th, 2001 obtained during the inversion process.
Others, see Figure 6.
fers partially from the one obtained by Tavera et al.
(2002), mainly in the orientation of the plane that dips
to the SW, and that allowed to improve the solution
obtained in this study. The focal depth is fitted to 75
km. The STF is calculated for 3 impulsions except for
the first main one with a 5-second duration and a seis-
mic moment of 1.1 × 1019 Nm equivalent to Mw = 6.6
magnitude. The summary of results appears in Table 3.
Aftershock of July 7th
In order to model the July 7th aftershock, 11 obser-
vation of P-waves (Figure 9) were used. The inver-
sion process is initiated by setting the source orienta-
tion obtained by Tavera et al. (2002) and leaving free
the focal depth and STF. According to Figure 11, the
wave shapes are complex and even more the ones corre-
sponding to the records of the TUC, ANMO and HKT
stations, being all of them located at the NW end of the
focal sphere. For a better analysis of the seismic signal,
five records have been selected for carrying out some
tests and the results obtained with the first inversions
appear in line 2, Figure 12. In such figure, it could be
seen that the records of HRV, BOSA and PLCA stations
are acceptably modeled, but not the records of the TUC
and HKT stations, mainly after 10-record seconds.
Figure 10. Synthetic (synt) and observed waves (obs) corresponding to the aftershock of July 5th, 2001 obtained during the inversion process.
Others, see Figure 6.
In order to propose a model explaining all obser-
vations, we have processed the data set by assuming
a possible occurrence of a second shock. The inver-
sion process begins considering the parameters of the
first event, and letting free those of the second one.
After some iterations, the synthetic-observed correla-
tion was improved showing an RMS = 27, as could be
seen on line 1, Figure 12. By following this solution,
the records of station TUC and HKT are better fitted.
The final solution of Figure 11 suggests the occurrence
of two separated earthquakes in a time window of 5
sec. The first shock corresponds to a reverse type fo-
cal mechanism with the same orientation than the main
shock, the second earthquake would present an thrust
fault mechanism but with major strike-slip component
and nodal planes oriented to NS and other to EW di-
rection. During the inversion process, each inversion
step was tried to be initiated by considering a source
with the main shock orientation, but the solution was al-
ways stable with a lateral component. In the case of first
shock, the focal depth is 18 km, and in the case of the
second one it is shallower, about 12 km. The STF of the
first shock shows a 27-second duration and describes
the occurrence of three quasi simultaneous ruptures
with a seismic moment of 3.4 × 1020 Nm (Mw = 7.6).
The second event shows one STF of similar form for
the first shock and with an approximate 25-second du-
ration. The scalar seismic moment is 2.0 × 1020 Nm
(Mw = 7.5). The summary of results appears in Table 3.
Tsunami
In June 23rd 2001, the earthquake produced a local
Tsunami that affected only the town of Camana (Are-
quipa region), localized 110km to the SE of the earth-
quake epicenter (Figure 13). The IGP sent a group
of professionals -geophysicians and geologists- to the
Tsunami-affected zone in order to carry out an eval-
uation of the damages and gather information on the
Figure 11. Synthetic (synt) and observed waves (obs) corresponding to the aftershock of July 7th, 2001 obtained during the inversion process.
Others, see Figure 6.
Tsunami characteristics. The gathered information and
the obtained results indicate that 15 min after the main
earthquake took place, the sea withdrew between 100
and 200 meters as from the locality of Chala up to Ilo.
In the localities of Chala, Quilca, Mollendo and Ilo,
the return of the sea middle level was slow and did not
produce damages; while in the localities of Ocoña and
Atico, the sea flooded the beaches between 30 and 50
meters through the mouth of the Ocoña river. In Ca-
mana, the sea withdrew 200 meters and its return did
produce important damages with the Tsunami waves
that reached about 4 to 7–8 meters high between La
Chira and Las Cuevas beaches. The maximum height
was observed in El Chiflon and in El Choro in the vicin-
ity of the Camaná river mouth and the Tilimaco lake.
In Camana beaches, the flooding occurred obliquely
to the coastline and extended along 23 km approxi-
mately. Flood levels in perpendicular direction to the
Figure 12. Results of the test carried out for the inversion process of the aftershock of July 7th, 2001. The line 2 solution corresponds to the
synthetic-observed adjustment obtained considering the orientation for the source according to Tavera et al. (2002); and line 1, assuming the
occurrence of a second event and that corresponds to the final solution for such aftershock. The arrows indicate the stretch of the record which
synthetic-observed correlation improves in each test stage.
coastline ranged between 50 and 1,300 meters, being
the maximum one in El Chiflon beach. The Tsunami
flooded 200 hectares of soils, and in El Choro, La
Punta and Las Cuevas beaches, 3500 houses were dam-
aged. These results and interpretations are similar to
those discussed by Borrero (2002) and Dengler et al.
(2003).
Data collected in Chala, Atico and Ocoña, localized
in the northwestern extremity of Camana, state that the
medium sea level was affected by the water currents
formation that circulated at great velocity in a SE di-
rection; while in the localities of Matarani and Mol-
lendo, they were carried out at the NW direction. This
information suggests that the water flow currents, on a
contrary direction, contributed so that the Tsunami be
propagated on an almost perpendicular way to the coast
line, as stated by the consulted sources (interviews to
inhabitants of the locality of Camaná). Another impor-
tant event, according to the staff present at the Matarani
Port (220 km SE of the earthquake epicenter), is that
in such port, the sea withdrew 50 meters, but around
10 min before the main earthquake was produced, and
hence, it could alert the personnel that moved to higher
altitude areas. The sea withdrew was evident due that
the pier that was under construction appeared totally
empty and its bottom located at a 3.5–4 meter medium
depth under the medium sea level could be observed.
This case could be due to the fact that in this region
an aseismic displacement of the plates and a rapid in-
crease of the deformation volume occurred before the
earthquake.
7. -Intensities
After the occurrence of June 23rd earthquake, the IGP
carried out the evaluation of the damages caused by
the earthquake in the cities of Arequipa, Moquegua
and Tacna, and also of the localities of Caravelı́, Ca-
mana, Corire, Aplao, Chuquibamba, Mollendo, Punta
de Bombón in the Arequipa region, and Ilo in Mo-
quegua region. For the damages evaluation, the square
distribution of the cities over their respective cadas-
tral maps shall be carried out, by defining in this way,
the number of samples to be taken. For that purpose,
forms which allow to gather all the information neces-
sary for elaborating the intensity map were designed,
by using the MSK-64 scale. This scale corresponds to
an amended version of the MSK79 scale carried out by
Ocola (1979) in order to consider the different Peru-
vian typical construction types. According to the au-
thor, the MSK79 scale allows to combine the effects
produced by the earthquake over the houses, persons
and relief. For its application, the use of the 6+ , 6, 6−
terms is suggested so as to approximate the descriptors
of each degree due to excess or defect. For example,
degree 6 considers that the evaluated point fulfils with
all the descriptors considered in the scale, degree 6+
states that the evaluated point has some descriptors of
the following degree and 6− , would present some de-
scriptors of the previous degree. The MSK79 scale has
been used for elaborating the intensity maps of several
earthquakes occurred in Peru (Ocola et al., 1980; Ocola
et al., 1997).
Figure 13. Main parameters and characteristics of the Tsunami that affected the locality of Camana (Arequipa). The perpendicular lines to the
coast line indicate the maximum waves height, the levels of the sea withdraw and the ones of the flood produced by the Tsunami (shadowed
area).
Figure 14. Distribution of the intensity areas expressed in the MSK79 scale for the city of Arequipa. The housing and street distribution
corresponds to the cadastral map elaborated by such city in year 2000.
Figure 15. Distribution of the intensity areas expressed in the MSK79 scale for the city of Moquegua. The housing and street distribution corresponds to the cadastral map elaborated for such
city in year 2000.
Figure 16. Distribution of the intensity areas expressed in MSK79 scale for the city of Tacna. The distribution of housing and streets corresponds to the cadastral map elaborated for such city
in year 2000.
Figure 17. Map of regional intensities in the MSK79 scale for the earthquake of June 23rd, 2001, elaborated with the information gathered
during the post-seismic visit in all the southern region of Peru.
Arequipa intensities
Figure 14 presents the results obtained for the Arequipa
city using 140 evaluation points of intensity. The max-
imum value of 6+ has been estimated in Lara, Los
Cristales and El Paso districts, all lying on ground
composed of gravels and low density sands. In Los
Cristales, the phreatic level is at 0.50 m depth with
the presence of water upwelling that gave rise to the
formation of small damps. This intensity is observed
in the neighborhood of Javier Eraus in the district of
Alto Selva Alegre, located on sloping ground that could
increase the damages induced by the earthquake. In
the Cercado and in the districts of Miraflores, Mari-
ano Melgar, Paucarpata, J.L. Bustamente, Characato,
Alto Selva Alegre, Cayma, Cerro Colorado and in Cono
Norte, 6− and 6 MSK intensity values prevail. In those
areas, ground is composed of gravels, alluvial deposits
and volcanic ashes. Only neighborhoods of La Rin-
conada, Jerusalén and Atalaya, in Mariano Melgar dis-
trict are located on intrusive rock. In the Hunter and
Sachaca districts, San Martín de Socabaya (Urb. Santa
Catalina), Salaverry (district J.L. Bustamante) sectors
and towards Cono Norte 5+ intensities were reported.
This intensity level is due that the soils are made up by
shallow fractured granites, monzonites and diorites.
House characteristics was another parameter con-
sidered when estimating the intensity. As a rule, near
Arequipa A-type houses prevail (districts of Miraflo-
res, Mariano Melgar, Sachaca, Characato, Paucarpata,
Cerro Colorado, Zamacola, Hunter and Selva Alegre),
the same that are characterized for being built based on
low stone without mortar or with lime-sand or cement-
sand mortar and foundations of mud or cement-sand
mortar without any type of structural reinforcement.
They also present arc- or straight-shaped lintels with
wood beams overlapped over the roof). The B-type
houses are observed in Cercado, Districts de Miraflo-
res, Mariano Melgar, Sachaca, Yanahuara and Cayma;
which consider as base element a very strongly con-
solidated volcanic flow and prepared in block shapes
known as “ashlar” that are overlapped with lime-sand
mortar or cement-sand mortar with 0.40 to 100 cm
width. In these houses, the brickwork is homogeneous
and with good foundation, but without reinforced con-
crete walls. There are vault-type roofs supported in
wide walls and/or flat roofs tied with rails or rein-
forced concrete supported over walls without beams
or reinforcement. All the brick constructions without
reinforcement could be considered within this type, the
ones that are found in all the districts of Arequipa. The
C-type houses are built with reinforced brick with re-
inforced concrete elements, beams, columns and con-
crete voided slab roofs, all them located at recently built
urbanizations, as Lambramani, Paucarpata, Hunter,
Bellapampa, Socabaya, Santa Catalina, Guardia Civil
and some redesigned areas in Downtown.
During the earthquake, the inhabitants of the city of
Arequipa were assembled in streets and parks, showing
panic and desperation. In the city surrounding areas,
land and rockslides were produced in mountains and
in the main volcanoes that border the city (Misti and
Chachani), but they did not cause important damages.
Moquegua intensities
In the case of the town of Moquegua, 130 points of
intensity estimation (Figure 15) were considered. The
maximum intensity value is 6+ MSK evaluated in the
shanty towns of El Siglo, San Francisco, Jose Olaya,
Virgen de las Mercedes, Ramiro Prialé and Pampas
San Antonio, where soil is made up by lime gravels
and outcrops of clayey sand. Intensity values of 6 to
6− were reported in Cercado Municipal, Pampas San
Antonio, Mariscal Nieto, Samegua Distrito, Fortunata
and San Bernabé. Punctually, 5+ is observed in the
shanty towns of La Primavera, Mariscal Nieto and part
of Pampas San Antonio. In the Cercado Municipal, the
predominant soil type is the lime gravel one. In the
city of Moquegua, the A-type houses consider adobe
constructions with mud or lime-sand mortar, stone-
superficial foundation with mud or cement-sand mortar
without any type of structural reinforcement, besides
of the straight lintels tied with wood, wood beam roofs
directly overlapped over the wall as scissors.
The B-type houses are built with brick and cement-
sand mortar and well fitted walls, being the brickwork
unit homogeneous with good foundation and walls
that are not reinforced with reinforced concrete. Roofs
are flat supported over walls and/or reinforced con-
crete slab without beams or reinforcement. The C-type
housings consider constructions based on bricks re-
inforced with reinforced concrete, beams and moor-
ing columns with good foundation, besides roofs with
concrete voided slab. In general, the A, B and C-type
housings are distributed without order in the city of
Moquegua.
According to the gathered information, the inhab-
itants of the city of Moquegua felt panic and desper-
ation and they went out to streets and parks, where
they could observe that a great percentage of houses
were destroyed by the earthquake. In the surroundings
of the city, lower-magnitude landslides were produced,
the ones that did not cause damages.
Tacna intensities
For Tacna city 92 points of intensity estimation were
considered (Figure 16). The maximum intensity value
is 7- MSK reported in the districts Alto de la Alianza
y Ciudad Nueva. Values of 6+, 6, 6 − y5+ have been
reported in the Cercado, in districts Pocollay, Gregorio
Albarracin, Augusto Leguia and Cono Sur of Tacna.
In the maximum intensity areas, the soil is made up
by an important filling layer of clayey sand and poorly
graded gravel. The presence of impure saline layers that
act as tuff mortar and sandy materials causing the for-
mation of shallow lenses is notorious. In some sectors
of these areas, the soils have collapsed and/or suffered
violent readjustment and loss of volume, giving rise to
excessive and uneven ground moving that affected the
C-type houses. In the peripheral zone of the downtown,
District of Pocollay, in the margins of the District Gre-
gorio Albarracin and at the East of Augusto Leguia,
the soils are made up by one or several filling stratum
that vary as from farming land to sands, clays, organic
limes and gravels. In the areas where intensity was 5+,
soils are made up by gravels and sands, and in others
by lime clays compacted with particles of angular and
rounded stone of igneous nature.
In the city of Tacna, A-type houses do not cor-
rectly respond to the occurrence of an earthquake due
that they were built without technique nor advice, and
they also used bad quality materials as the adobe and
clay without structural reinforcements, with rectangu-
lar roofs built with wood beams covered with wattle
and daub. This type of houses are distributed without
order in all the city of Tacna. The B-type houses have
cement blocks with cement-sand mortar, and also an
homogeneous brickwork but without reinforced con-
crete reinforcement in the walls. These houses are dis-
tributed without order in the city of Tacna and in the
districts of Alto de la Alianza and Ciudad Nueva. In the
urban zone of the city of Tacna and in the districts of
Pocollay, Gregorio Albarracin, Ciudad Nueva and Alto
de la Alianza, the C-type houses built with brick and
blocks reinforced with reinforced concrete elements,
beams and mooring columns, and also a good cement-
sand foundation prevail.
During the earthquake, the inhabitants of the city
of Tacna went out from their houses to the street with
panic and desperation, by suffering many of them per-
sonal damages caused by the walls of their own houses.
In this city, few landslides in the surrounding areas
took place, but the higher number of collapsed houses
was produced there, mainly in the urbanization Ciudad
Nueva.
Other areas evaluated in southern Peru showed less
damage: Corire (5+ ), Aplao (6− ), Chuquibamba (5+ ),
Camana (6+ ), Caraveli (7− ), Mollendo (6+ ), Punta de
Bombón (6+ ), all in Arequipa region. In Moquegua
region, we evaluated Ilo (7) and El Algarrobal (7− ).
With the whole southern Peru data set, an inten-
sity regional map was drawn based on MSK79 scale
(Figure 17). The maximum intensity (6+ and 7) corre-
sponds to an elliptical area of 50,000 km2 from Chala
town (Peru) to Arica city (Chile) similar to the one pro-
posed by Tavera et al. (2002) from the values of inten-
sity in the Modified Mercalli Scale (MM). According
to these authors, the value of maximum intensity was
of VIII (MM).
Discussion and conclusion
The southern Peru region was affected after 133 years
of relative quiescence by an Mw = 8.1–8.2 earthquake
that occurred in June 23rd, 2001. Preliminary stud-
ies allowed to consider this earthquake as a recur-
rence of the one of August 1868, that was assigned
Mw = 9.0, a rupture length of about 500 km and in-
tensities of about XXI (MM). Later, Kikuchi and Ya-
manaka (2001), Tavera et al. (2002), Giovanni et al.
(2002), Bilek and Ruff (2002), Dewey et al. (2003) and
Robinson and Das (2004) demonstrated that June 2001
earthquake presented a lower magnitude (Mw = 8.2), a
rupture length of 300 km approximant and a maximum
intensity of VII–VIII (MM), therefore it is not a recur-
rent earthquake. After the earthquake took place, the
Geophysical Institute of Peru carried out several seis-
mological and seismotectonic studies and elaborated
preliminary reports and a final one that could be con-
sulted in our web page (http://www.igp.gob.pe/cns/).
The main shock hypocenter and its aftershock se-
ries were recalculated using information of the seis-
mic national network and 8 broadband stations tem-
porally installed around the affected area. The results
allowed to localize the main shock about 83km toward
the NW from Ocoña near the epicenter proposed by
Tavera et al. (2002). The focus depth was estimated in
23 km and as from the modeling of volume waves in
29 km (Table 3), being these values close to the ones
reported by the USGS (33 km); Kikuchi and Yamanaka
(2001), 32 km and Giovanni et al. (2002), 20 km. The
earthquake magnitude was estimated by the IGP in
ML(d) = 6.9, Ms = 7.8 and from waveform inversion
in Mw = 8.1 similar to those ones reported by other
international agencies (mb = 6.7, GS; Ms = 8.2, GS;
Mw = 8.4, HRV; Mw = 8.2, Kikuchi and Yamanaka
(2001); Mw = 8.2, Giovanni et al. (2002); Mw = 8.4,
Bilek and Ruff (2002).
The relocalization of 220 aftershocks with ML mag-
nitudes ranging from 2.4 and 4.8 have allowed to de-
fine a 300 × 120 km2 rupture area with the epicen-
ter of the main earthquake in the NW extremity of
such area, which indicates a unilateral propagation of
the rupture in SE direction, as suggested by Giovanni
et al. (2002), Bilek and Ruff (2002) and Robinson and
Das (2004). According to the aftershocks distribution,
within the rupture area, the plates friction surface is
very heterogeneous and groupings of earthquakes and
the demarcation of an area that would not have expe-
rienced any rupture could be identified there. In such
area, the displacements that took place would have been
produced on a seismic basis. The accumulation of af-
tershocks around the epicenter of the main earthquake
and a higher dispersion in SE direction with the sudden
occurrence of two aftershocks with Mw = 6.6 and 7.5
magnitudes and epicenters in the sea and in front of the
localities of Ilo and Mollendo, respectively, is evident.
These great magnitude aftershocks and the spatial ces-
sation of other lower ones in front of the locality of Ilo,
suggest the abrupt stoppage of all the rupture process
and the presence of an important seismic barrier that
shall be dealt in other research studies.
The focal mechanisms obtained for the main shock
and major aftershocks correspond to reverse type with
NW-SE nodal planes, being the possible fault plane
the one dipping gently to the NE. The 5th of July after-
shock, with an epicenter located NE to the main shock
inside the continent, presents a normal focal mecha-
nism with NE-SW planes and a possible fault plane
nearly vertical (Figure 3). The focal mechanisms of
the lower magnitude aftershocks, whether composed or
simple ones, have also similar solutions to the ones of
the main earthquake, despite GROUP1 has small strike-
slip components. In general, these solutions are coher-
ent with the regional deformation pattern as a result
of the convergence of the Nazca and South American
plates.
The STF characteristics suggest that the main shock
has a very complex rupture process lasting 85 sec.
During this time, two main ruptures would have taken
place, the first one with the start of the earthquake and
with a 25-second duration and then it was slowly prop-
agated in SE direction until a rupture higher to around
100 km of distance from the earthquake epicenter was
produced (45 sec after the earthquake started). As sug-
gested by Giovanni et al. (2002) and Bilek and Ruff
(2002), between both sources an asperity has been en-
countered, but a lower size one in this case. A second
event, complex too, occurred 40 sec after the first one,
with its epicenter localized 120–130 km toward the SE
corresponding to the beginning of the rupture. This sec-
ond event and the second source of the main event pro-
duced the greatest energy release close to the town of
Camana, just as suggested by Kikuchi and Yamanaka
(2001), Giovanni et al. (2002), Bilek and Ruff (2002)
and Robinson and Das (2004). This whole rupture pro-
cess developed on a surface dipping about 28◦ with a
velocity of 2 km/sec, similar to the values proposed by
Sladen et al. (2004). This rupture velocity would ex-
plain the great duration of the earthquake and maybe
the damages and effects-produced in surface that were
not very big considering the earthquake size. Likewise,
such rupture velocity is similar to the one observed for
the Tsunamis earthquakes.
The SFT of the aftershock of June de 26th is sim-
ple and a short-duration one like the aftershock dated
July 5th; however, the last one presents a focal mecha-
nism of a normal type at a 75 km depth. According to
our results, the earthquake occurred inside the Nazca
plate under the fitting surface of plates as an answer to
the compression forces that gave rise the main earth-
quake and the forces that pull the oceanic plate toward
the interior of the mantle. According to its location,
in the NE extremity of the aftershock area, the earth-
quake of July 5th, could surely have relation with all
the complex deformation process that went together
with the main earthquake. For July 7th aftershock, the
SFT lasted 27 sec and suggested an occurrence due to
a complex rupture process. A second event, with the
epicenter located to the west of the first one, took place
7 sec later with a 23-sec duration. The first event pre-
sented a 18 km-depth and the second one a 12 km-depth
consistent with its epicenter localization and that could
suggest the propagation of the rupture to the west. The
focal mechanism of the second event is of inverse type
with a great strike-slip component, by suggesting the
occurrence of the most complex rupture process.
The results obtained in this study demonstrate that
the June 2001 earthquake has produced one of the most
complicated rupture processes known in the case of
Peruvian earthquakes. The nature that gave rise the lo-
cal Tsunami is also complex, which affected the local-
ity of Camaná in Arequipa. Information gathered from
around 15 persons confirm the formation of sea currents
that circulate parallel to the coast line as from Chala
and Atico in SE direction, and Mollendo and Matarani
in NW direction. Both currents could come across in
the area around the locality of Camaná for facilitating
the formation of Tsunami waves that were propagated
in an almost perpendicular way to the coast line, which
would explain the flood of 32 km of lands that were
set aside for beaches to the south of the locality of Ca-
maná. The Tsunami characteristics could be obviously
explained in the complexity of the rupture process of
the main earthquake.
Considering that the rupture surface produced by
the earthquake has propagated in SE direction, the ma-
jor damages and effects shall be produced in the lo-
calities and cities located in the south region of Peru.
In acceleration terms, the accelerometer of the local-
ity of Huancavelica (Peru) located at 424 km in NE
direction of the main earthquake epicenter registered
a maximum acceleration of 11.6 cm/seg2 , contrary to
the accelerometers of the city of Arica (Chile) located
at 455 km at the SE of the epicenter of the main earth-
quake registered an average maximum acceleration 284
cm/seg2 (Boroschek et al., 2002), which suggests that
the major amount of energy would have been propa-
gated in SE direction, coherent with the level of the
damage produced by the earthquake in all the region.
The intensity estimates show that in this area the
maximum intensity was about 6+ to 7− MSK79, except
in the districts of Alto de la Alianza and Ciudad Nueva,
where the major percentage of damages occurred in the
houses due to their low building quality level. Similar
damages occurred in Moquegua, but in this case these
were mainly old houses built with mud and without any
building techniques. Lower damages were reported in
Arequipa and nearby town areas. The presence of geo-
logically inadequate grounds where houses and public
buildings were built play a major role in the increase
of damages induced by the earthquake (sewers, water
pipes, public phones and electrical maintenance).
The earthquake of June 23rd is one of the biggest
and important ones that occurred in this region in the
last 150 years, which has been only exceeded by the
earthquake taken place in Concepción and Valdivia
(Chile) in May 1960 (Mw = 9.5). Like the earthquake
of Antofagasta-Chile occurred in 1995 (Delouis et al.,
1997; Ihmle and Ruegg, 1997) and Nazca-Peru in 1996
(Tavera et al., 1998; Spence et al., 1998), in the case of
the earthquake of June 23, 2001, the complexity charac-
teristics of its rupture process could be studied in detail,
as well as the damages and effects produced in surface.
In general, all these earthquakes have in common that
their rupture processes present directivity, from NW
to SE in Peru and from N to S in Chile, which also
presented high magnitudes aftershocks as well as areas
of more energy release far from the rupture initiation
point. These characteristics in big earthquakes rupture
processes, are typical of the subduction zones all over
the world (Kanamori, 1977; McCann and Nishenko,
1979). In the case of bigger earthquakes taken place
in the south region of Peru before 2001, despite being
comparable with regard to magnitude (earthquakes of
1868, 1913), it is not possible to obtain information
which allows to evaluate the development of similar
rupture processes.
The earthquake of June 23rd, 2001 (Mw = 8.1–8.2)
could not be considered as repetitive with regard to
the one occurred in the same region in August, 1868
(Figure 2). The last one has a Mw = 9.0 magnitude and
a rupture length of 500 km; therefore, 200 km would
remain not ruptured which added to the rupture length
produced by the earthquake of 1877 in the North region
of Chile (Mw = 9.0), would increase to 700 km (Tavera
and Bernal, 2004). This new energy accumulation area
stretches as from the locality of Ilo in the department of
Moquegua (Peru) up to the city of Antofagasta in Chile
and shall give rise in the future to a new earthquake of
great magnitude.
Acknowledgements
The authors express their gratefulness to the inhabi-
tants of the cities of Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna
that helped in the data collection for the elaboration
of the intensity maps. Appreciation is also expressed
to the Dr. Laurence Audin and Dr. José Macharé due
to their suggestions and comments that helped to im-
prove the content of this study. Our thankfulness to
the anonymous reviewers due to their comments and
critics that help us to substantially improve this study.
Contribution N◦ 021-CNDG-IGP.
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