A strong earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale jolted Sunday several regions of Peru, including capital Lima, but there are no immediate reports of either injuries or damage to property due to it, the National Geophysics Institute reported.
The quake, which hit at 5:46 pm local time (2246 GMT) Sunday, had its epicenter located 18 miles (28 km) southwest of the Ayacucho region, at about 71 miles (115 km) depth, and nearly 223 miles (360 kms) from Lima, it said.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), however, said the quake was of 5.9 Richter scale-magnitude. Residents in crowded Lima rushed into streets frightened by the earthquake. People in the regions of Ayacucho, Apurimac, Ica and southern Lima felt the tremors, it was reported.
A massive 8.0 magnitude leveled completely a local town August 15 of 2007 and killed 600 persons and left many others injured in the south-western Latin American nation, lapped by the South Pacific Ocean.
The most serious one to hit was in 1970, of 7.9-magnitude, high in the Andes that triggered a landslide and buried the town of Yungay and killed 66,000 persons in the third largest South American country.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com