Church damaged as northern Peru jolted by strong quake

LIMA: A strong earthquake jolted northern Peru on Saturday, scaring residents and damaging a church but with no reports of casualties, local officials said.

The US Geological Survey reported that the magnitude 6.3 quake struck in the early evening at 2351 GMT just off Peru´s Pacific coast, six kilometers (three miles) west of the coastal town of Sechura. It had a depth of nine kilometers, the USGS reported. The area is close to Peru´s border with Ecuador.

Peru´s Geophysical Institute, which had slightly different figures, said the quake struck at 6:51 pm with an epicenter 38 kilometers west of Sechura, and with a depth of 25 kilometers.

Peru´s navy said they would not issue a tsunami alert, and urged residents to stay calm. When the quake struck Sechura residents fled their homes in panic and packed the streets. Telephone service was briefly interrupted, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or casualties, Civil Defense officials said.

However the cupola of one of the two tall bell towers of the Sechura Cathedral collapsed, regional police said, adding that there were also reports of landslides in nearby hills.

Earthquakes are common in Peru because the country is located on the Pacific Rim of Fire, one of the most active seismic areas in the world.