Powerful quake hits Peru, sparks tsunami warning

LIMA, Aug 16 (Reuters) A powerful earthquake rattled Peru shaking office buildings in the capital, toppling a few small homes and triggering a tsunami warning for four countries.

The dangerous quake had a magnitude of 7.9 and office workers ran onto the streets in fear as tall buildings in Lima shook in two waves that lasted around 20 seconds each and power lines were cut yesterday.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii issued a tsunami warning for Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia.

Peruvian emergency teams ordered residents to evacuate low-lying areas in the port city of Callao, but emergency officials said no deaths were reported.

''At this time, there is no big or serious damage. Some houses have been knocked over, yes, as have some ceilings, but there are no direct victims,'' Luis Palomino, head of Peru's civil defense agency.

Radio stations said there was a fire in one district of Lima and that several poorly constructed homes were knocked down in Pisco, a town near the epicenter of the quake.

''I was playing soccer when the quake hit and I had to run back to my office because I am the chief of security. Now I am going to check on my family,'' said Juan Francisco Acevedo, 29, who works for an Internet company in Lima.

Ambulance sirens blared in the darkened capital where windows of storefronts shattered and the health ministry declared a disaster.

''People here hugging and crying in fear on the streets,'' said Cristyane Marusiak, a 31-year-old resident.

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 about 145 km southeast of Lima at a depth of around 40 km.

It was followed by nine aftershocks ranging in magnitude from 6 to the upper 4s, said Dale Grant, a geophysicist at the USGS's National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado.

The USGS says earthquakes measuring more than 7 magnitude often result in fatalities.

In neighboring Chile, officials said they saw no risk of a tsunami on its Pacific coastline.

Reuters SZ VP0756