Magnitude 6.9 Earthquake Rattles Peru

By John Quigley and Alex Emery - Oct 28, 2011 2:43 PM CT
bloomberg.com

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck off the west coast of Peru, rattling residents in cities still recovering from a temblor that killed more than 500 people in 2007. No damage was immediately reported.
The quake was centered 178 miles (286 kilometers) south- southeast of Lima, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. Buildings in the capital shook for about a minute, and had to be evacuated amid aftershocks.
Southern Copper Corp., Peru’s largest producer of the metal, didn’t sustain any damage at its mines or smelter, a company spokesman said.
The temblor knocked out power in the city of Ico and in Pisco, which was devastated by the magnitude-8 temblor in 2007, people remained outside of their homes worried about aftershocks a half-hour after the quake struck,Radioprogramas reported.
The tide went out by about 10 metres in San Andres port along the southern coast, sparking concern among local residents that they could be hit by a tsunami, according to Radioprogramas. The town suffered flooding following Japan's earthquake and tsunami in March.
The 2007 quake was Peru’s worst in more than 30 years. At least 510 people were killed in that quake and another 80,000 people left without shelter.
An earlier report put the magnitude of today’s quake at 7.0.
To contact the reporter on this story: John Quigley in Lima at jquigley8@bloomberg.net; Alex Emery in Lima at aemery1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Joshua Goodman at jgoodman19@bloomberg.net