Strong earthquake in Peru

A strong earthquake shook northern Peru. Officials have not announced the level of physical damage and casualties.

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AP quoted the US Geological Department and the Peruvian Geophysical Institute for saying that the earthquake occurred at 12:46 pm on August 24 local time. The earthquake has a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter is about 80km north of Pucallpa city and lies at a depth of 145km.

In Pucallpa city, buildings shook, trees shook and people flocked to the streets. People in the capital Lima also felt the earthquake.

Location of the seismic in Peru on August 24. (Graphic: US Geological Department)

A woman told Peru's Canal N television that the ground shook like a hammock.'Things shook so hard, but people fled to the street calmly,' said Angela Romero, a local police officer.

The spokesman for the city police force Cruzeiro do Sul in Brazil - about 135km northeast of Pucallpa - said the buildings there were also shaking strongly.

Because the epicenter was so deep, the impact of the earthquake today at Pucallpa was only equivalent to a 5-magnitude seismic, an unidentified official of the Peruvian Geophysical Institute said. Peruvian officials have not published information about casualties and physical damage.

Peru is one of the most seismic countries in the world. The most intense seismic recently, with an intensity of 7.9 on the Richter scale - occurred on August 15, 2007. It killed 596 people and destroyed almost the entire city of Pisco.