Earthquake hits Peru, no deaths reported, eight injured

A strong earthquake measuring seven degrees on the Richter scale occurred today near the coast in the southern Peruvian region of Arequipa, local officials said, adding that there were no reported deaths, Reuters reports.

A total of eight people were injured.

The head of disaster risk management and national defense at the Ministry of Health, David Aponte, informed local radio station RPP about three minor injuries.

Later, the Ministry of Health announced that five more injured were treated in nearby hospitals.

After the earthquake, Arequipa was hit by four aftershocks ranging from four to 4,6 on the Richter scale, causing landslides on local roads.

The government said on social media that it was monitoring the situation in order to assess the damage and "determine actions to be taken".

The US National Tsunami Warning Center said there was a tsunami threat from the earthquake, adding that waves between one and three meters above high tide were recorded along some parts of the Peruvian coast.

Prime Minister Gustavo Adrianzen, however, said the tsunami warning off the coast of Arequipa had been dismissed.

Carlos Zanabrija, an adviser to the Arequipa regional government, told local radio station RPP that property damage had been reported in some districts and residents had fled their homes in fear, but he had heard no reports of death or injuries.

Flavio Aranguren, mayor of Jauka district in Arequipa's Caraveli province, told RPP that some walls of houses in the district had collapsed. He also said there were no deaths.

Small-scale artisanal gold mines operate in the town of Jauka and other neighboring towns near the coast, but so far no information has been available on any impact.

Ricardo Guillen, a representative of the National Emergency Operations Center, said that there were power and telephone line outages in areas near the epicenter of the earthquake.

Ecuador and Peru are part of the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a vast area surrounding the Pacific Ocean where collisions between continental plates are frequent.