7.5-magnitude earthquake hits Peru's northern Amazon region

LIMA • A 7.5-magnitude earthquake shook the Amazon region of northern Peru early yesterday and was felt as far as Lima in the centre of the country and southern Ecuador, causing damage to homes near the epicentre.

So far, no casualties have been reported.

The seismological centre of the Geophysical Institute of Peru said the earthquake had a depth of 131km and that the epicentre was 98km from the town of Santa Maria de Nieva in the province of Condorcanqui.

The quake was felt throughout central and northern Peru. Some residents rushed out of their homes as a precaution, according to local radio and TV reports.

No damage was reported to the 1,100km oil pipeline of state-owned Petroperu that crosses the Peruvian Amazon region to the Pacific coast in the north.

Mr Walter Culqui, mayor of the town of Jalca Grande in Chachapoyas province, said several houses were damaged, and three people had injuries. Part of the church tower in the area collapsed, he added.

In neighbouring Ecuador, the quake was felt in 19 of 24 provinces, with damage to some homes but no injuries reported, according to the country's National Service for Risk and Emergency Management.

Peru's National Civil Defence Institute said in a statement that in the Amazon districts of Valera, San Jeronimo and Leimebamba, the earthquake "has caused damage to an as yet undetermined number of homes".

Electricity cuts were reported in several locations in jungle areas. Local TV images showed stretches of roads blocked by huge rocks and dirt that had been knocked loose.

The United States' warning system said there was no tsunami warning after the quake.

REUTERS