Peru's Junín orders demolition of 54 quake‑damaged homes; Lima's Rímac faces thousands of unsafe historic houses

The provincial municipality of Huancayo in Junín province began tearing down 54 homes in the district of Chupuro after a magnitude 5.1 earthquake left them structurally unsafe. Authorities, citing assessments by civil defence and urban development staff, said 43 houses in Estrellita and Carmen Pampa and 11 in Chonta and Centro Unión could collapse. Mayor Dennys Cuba Rivera warned, “It is alarming… our neighbours are at risk of losing their lives because they are in infrastructure that could fall at any moment.” The municipality is arranging a rent‑subsidy of 500 soles per month for two years for displaced families and coordinates aid with the national housing ministry and INDICÉ.

A separate assessment in Lima’s historic Rímac district identified about 4,700 colonial‑era casonas and quintas in critical condition or declared uninhabitable, threatening the safety of more than 30,000 residents. The structures, built with adobe, quincha, wood and reed, suffer deterioration that could lead to total collapse in a strong quake. Heritage protections limit demolition, complicating emergency responses. Officials also reported 1,678 ruinous buildings in Lima’s historic centre and highlighted the broader risk to pedestrians and traffic.

Both situations underscore the ongoing vulnerability of Peru’s housing stock to seismic events and the challenge of balancing safety with cultural preservation.