Powerful quakes hit Peru, spark tsunami warning

Lima, Aug 16: Two powerful earthquakes within minutes of each other struck Peru, rattling buildings in the capital and triggering a tsunami warning for four countries.

The quakes had a magnitude of about 7.5 and office workers ran onto the streets in fear as buildings in Lima shook in two bouts that lasted around 20 seconds each.

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

Peruvian civil defense officials said there were no immediate reports of fatalities but radio stations said there was a fire in one district of Lima and that several poorly constructed homes in Pisco, a town near the epicenter of the quake, were knocked down.

Ambulance sirens blared in the darkened capital 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 said the first quake hit about 40 km northwest of Chincha Alta and that the second quake hit shortly afterward, both with a magnitude of 7.5.

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

Reuters>