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Peru capital rocked by earthquake Dozens killed by Peru earthquake
(about 3 hours later)
An earthquake measuring 7.9 has hit the coast of Peru, centred 160km (100 miles) from the capital, Lima, the US Geological Survey reports. A powerful 7.9 earthquake has hit the coast of Peru, killing more than 70 people and injuring 680 others.
Some houses collapsed, and power supplies and phone lines were cut. At least 46 people were killed in the province of Ica, about 265km (165 miles) south of Lima, officials said.
Reports say at least 20 people were killed when a building collapsed in the town of Ica, south of the capital. Seventy others were injured. In Lima, buildings shook violently during the prolonged tremors, prompting residents to take to the streets.
President Alan Garcia said Peru had been badly hit but first signs were that the quake was not a catastrophe. President Alan Garcia said Peru had been badly hit, but first signs were that the quake was not a catastrophe.
He said he was sending three Cabinet members, including the health minister, to the coastal towns of Chincha and Ica, where the quake is reported to have hit the hardest. He said he was sending three cabinet members, including the health minister, to the worst affected southern coastal towns.
A tsunami alert issued earlier for Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia has been withdrawn. Low-lying coastal areas in Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia were evacuated after a tsunami alert was issued. The warning was later withdrawn.
Barry Hirshorn, of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii, told the BBC that there had been no evidence of a tsunami: The earthquake struck coastal Peru at 1840 (2340 GMT) and lasted for several minutes,
"Because we've now looked at a number of water-gauges where we should have seen a tsunami by now which have no information on them, we're going to cancel." The US Geological Survey said its epicentre was beneath the Pacific Ocean, about 145km (90 miles) south-east of Lima.
'Violent shaking' Four strong aftershocks ranging from 5.4 to 5.9 followed, the organisation said.
An Associated Press photographer said that homes had collapsed in the centre of Lima. Witnesses reported hundreds of residents running into the streets, after the tremors were felt at 1840 (2340 GMT). Rush-hour traffic in Lima came to a halt as buildings shook with the force of the powerful tremors and hundreds of people spilled onto the streets.
"I heard quite violent shaking, books falling off the bookcase, lampshade falling over and pictures falling off the wall, and I went to the safe-zone by the lift," said the BBC's Dan Collyns in Lima. It fortunately did not cause a catastrophe with an immense number of victims President Alan Garcia
"Fortunately I live in a building which has been specially built to deal with earthquakes and tremors, which are quite common in Lima and around Peru. "I heard quite violent shaking, books falling off the bookcase, a lampshade falling over and pictures falling off the wall, and I went to the safe zone by the lift," the BBC's Dan Collyns in Lima said.
"But in other parts of Lima, where the buildings are often of very poor quality, there will have been considerable damage, I would imagine." But the full devastating force of the earthquake was felt closer to the epicentre in the southern coastal province of Ica.
Lima resident Cristyane Marusiak told Reuters news agency: "People here are hugging and crying in fear on the streets." Deputy Health Minister Jose Calderon described the situation in Ica, where 650,000 people live, as "dramatic".
The US Geological Survey at first said there were two earthquakes within minutes of each other but later amended its reports to show that one quake struck at a depth of around 25 miles (40 km) below the earth's surface. The city's mayor, Mariano Nacimiento, said hospitals in the area had reported 46 deaths and 350 injured, but added that the death toll was expected to rise.
The mayor said he had asked the government for medicine, blankets, tents and all help that could be given.
"We're working, visiting areas where there are dead people and for this, the government's role is very important," he told Radio Programas del Peru (RPP).
Local TV reports said many of the dead and injured in Ica had been celebrating evening mass when the church they were in collapsed.
State of emergency
Speaking on national TV and radio, President Garcia thanked God that the earthquake had not caused a catastrophe, as such events had in the past.
"It fortunately did not cause a catastrophe with an immense number of victims," he said.
"We have declared a state of emergency in the Ica province and we are going this evening to ensure that regional and local governments, civil defence institutions and ministries can spend what they need to, rapidly and immediately, in order to solve the problems that exist there."
The president also ordered police onto the streets of Lima to keep order.
Our correspondent says the feeling on the streets of Lima, a city where one third of the population lives, is that it may have narrowly avoided a major disaster.
Are you in the Peruvian capital or surrounding areas? Have you felt the effects of the earthquake? Send us your observations.
Are you in the Peruvian capital or surrounding areas? Have you felt the effects of the earthquake? Send us your observations.
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