7.2 magnitude earthquake shakes southern Peru

LIMA, Peru (AP) — A magnitude 7.2 earthquake shook the southern coast of Peru early Friday. Authorities say there are no immediate reports of casualties.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake occurred at 12:36 a.m. (0536 GMT). The epicenter was located in the Pacific Ocean, some 5 miles (8 kilometers) west of the district of Atiquipa, in the province of Caravelí. That is some 380 miles south of the capital, Lima, near the borders with Chile and Bolivia. The depth was 17 miles (28 kilometers).

The earthquake was felt in the nearby regions of Ayacucho, Ica, and the capital, local media reported. Eder Allca, the mayor of the district of Sancos, in the Ayacucho region, told the local radio station RPP that a road in his district suffered rock slides that left several localities cut off.

The Hydrography and Navigation Directorate of the Peruvian Navy reported that the seismic event generated a tsunami alert along the Peruvian coast. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu said any threat of a tsunami had already passed.

In my time, we did not have graduation ceremonies for pre-kindergarten, kindergarten or grade school. There may have been cookies and juice before we went to high school after Grade 8, but we were never gowned, portraited and diploma-ed. I vaguely remember a white poplin dress with a yellow bow somewhere along the way, but it is an image that drifts in and out of focus with a context I can’t verify.

I must have had some ceremony at the end of high school, but as a misfit, plump and bewildered, high school was no picnic and I have brushed away the particulars.

I did not attend my undergraduate university ceremony as I was readying myself for a May wedding my mother was not pleased to design. When I received my doctorate, years later, I had two boys and a husband who understood every one of my misgivings about whether or not I could succeed.

During that last graduation, I opened the manila envelope given to me as I walked across the stage only to find a rather severe notice stating I would not be degreed unless I returned outstanding library books.