The 2001 southern Peru earthquake occurred at 20:33:15 UTC (15:33:15 local time) on June 23 with a moment magnitude of 8.4 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). The quake affected the Peruvian regions of Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna. It was the most devastating earthquake in Peru since the catastrophic 1970 Ancash earthquake and globally the largest earthquake since the 1965 Rat Islands earthquake. Tectonic setting Peru lies above the destructive boundary where the Nazca Plate is being subducted beneath the South American Plate along the line of the Peru–Chile Trench. The two plates are converging towards each other at a rate of about 78mm or 3 inches per year. Southwestern Peru has a history of very large earthquakes. The June 23 shock originated just southeast of the source of a magnitude 7.7 earthquake that occurred in 1996, and it appears to have involved rupture of part of the plate boundary segment that produced an earthquake of magnitude approximately 9.0 in 1868. The 1868 earthquake was destructive in towns that were heavily damaged in the June 23 earthquake. The 1868 earthquake produced a tsunami that killed thousands of people along the South American coast and also caused damage in Hawaii and the only recorded tsunami deaths in New Zealand. Earthquake The earthquake occurred as a result of thrust faulting along the plate boundary interface. The initial onset consisted of two events separated by about 6 seconds. It was followed by at least one larger complex event occurring about 40 seconds later. The rupture area as determined from the distribution of aftershocks was 320 km x 100 km. The rupture propagated unilaterally from the hypocenter towards the southeast. The earthquake resulting in many instances of ground failure effects. These ground failure effects included landslides, collapsed drainage banks, ground cracking and more. These failures can have long term effects on the landscape and the local habitats. Tsunami The size and location of the earthquake caused a local tsunami in Peru as well as smaller tsunamis in other countries and on other continents. The magnitude of the local tsunami that was caused by the earthquake was measured as Mt=8.2 by the Earthquake Research Institute and waves from the local tsunami were recorded to be 5 to 8 meters high. The local tsunami that occurred in Peru caused great damage to a 20 km section of coastline located in the municipality of Camana