A powerful 7-magnitude earthquake struck today just outside the coastal city of Arequipa, Peru's second largest, local officials said, adding that no deaths or injuries were reported.
The Peruvian government said on social media that it was monitoring the situation "to assess the damage and determine the actions to be taken."
The United States' National Tsunami Warning Center said there was a tsunami threat from the quake, adding that waves 1 to 3 meters above flood level were recorded along parts of Peru's coast.
However, Peruvian Prime Minister Gustavo Andriansen said the tsunami warning off the coast of Arequipa had been cancelled.
Carlos Sanabria, an advisor to the regional government of Arequipa, told local radio station RPP that property damage was reported in some neighborhoods and residents came out of their homes in fear, but he had no reports of deaths or injuries.
Flavio Aranguren, the mayor of Yauca district in Arequipa's Caravelli province, told RPP that some walls of houses in the district collapsed. He added, however, that no deaths have been reported.
Ecuador and Peru are located in the so-called Ring of Fire in the Pacific Ocean, where tectonic plates collide.
