Strong 6.7-magnitude quake strikes southern Peru: USGS

A strong 6.7-magnitude earthquake has struck southern Peru, US seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The epicenter of the quake was located about 40 kilometers northwest of Upahuacho, and nearly 800 kilometers from the capital Lima. It stuck at a depth of 66 kilometers, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The Geophysical Institute of Peru put the magnitude at 7.2 and said the quake occurred at a depth of 108 kilometres.

Images broadcast by Peruvian media showed rocks and earth tumbling down hills around Coracora in Ayacucho region, the closest town to the epicenter, which has a population of about 10,000.

"The population has responded, they evacuated and took shelter," the town's mayor Yony Odon told state television in a telephone call, saying he was hopeful there was no major damage.

The earthquake "was felt with moderate to strong intensity in several departments," the National Institute of Civil Defense wrote on X.

The tremor was also felt in Cusco, Arequipa and even Lima, although with lesser intensity, AFP journalists said.

The earthquake follows two major quakes in the region since June: a double earthquake in Venezuela on June 24 that killed over 6,400 people and a powerful tremor in Colombia last week that left nearly 300 people dead.