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330 dead as 7.9 quake rocks Peru

Strong aftershocks continue hours after the tremor
about 100 miles south of Lima.

By Adriana León and Héctor Tobar, Special to The
Times
August 16, 2007

LIMA, PERU -- A magnitude 7.9 earthquake shook
southern Peru on Wednesday, killing at least 330 people and injuring more
than 1,000 others in the cities of Ica and Pisco and sparking tsunami
warnings for the Pacific coast of South America and the distant Hawaiian
Islands.

Peruvian media reported that several people were killed
when the bell tower of an 18th century church toppled in Ica, about 150
miles south of Lima. Dozens more were injured when hospital buildings
collapsed and power lines fell in Ica, leaving the city of 200,000 in
darkness as emergency workers searched for victims.

Many buildings were
damaged in Pisco and in Chincha Alta, near the earthquake's epicenter just
off the Peruvian coast about 100 miles south of Lima.

The death
toll rose throughout the evening.

The U.S. Geological Survey said
the quake, which struck at 6:41 p.m. local time, occurred on a
historically active thrust fault about 25 miles below the Earth's surface.
Two aftershocks measuring 5.9 and 5.8 on the Richter scale struck less
than 30 minutes later.

Officials said the quake generated a 10-inch
wave that quickly dissipated along the coast. Tsunami alerts were canceled
in South and Central America, but an advisory remained in effect for
Hawaii late Wednesday.

Peruvian authorities ordered the evacuation
of several seaside communities, including one near Callao, the country's
largest port, where at least 70 buildings were damaged and dozens of
people injured as structures collapsed, according to Gen. David Salazar,
commander of the national police. Colombia's southernmost port, Tumaco,
also was ordered evacuated.

In the port city of Pisco, residents
fled to higher ground even as authorities issued reports that the region
was not in danger of being hit by tidal waves.

"We ask for calm,"
President Alan Garcia said in a nationally televised address as he
declared a state of emergency in Ica and the surrounding region. With
repeated aftershocks striking the region, he said, Peruvians should leave
coastal areas "as a precaution. . . without panic."

Lima media
broadcast calls from coastal residents worried about tidal waves.
Fishermen called in to Radio Programas del Peru saying the ocean looked
"strange."

A landslide blocked the coastal highway linking Lima to
Pisco and other cities south of the capital. And the temblor sent
thousands of people scurrying from high-rises in Lima, where two people
were reported dead.

"We were on the fourth floor, and it caught us
totally by surprise," said Patricia Miyashiro, a Lima office worker. "All
the books fell, and we ran out to the street."

Some buildings were
damaged in central Lima, and there were reports of fires at a clothing
warehouse.

USGS officials said the quake took place "at the
boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates." The South
American plate is creeping west, up and over the Nazca plate, at the rate
of 3 inches per year, according to USGS.

Ica, a provincial capital
with about 200,000 residents, appeared to take the hardest hit in
Wednesday's quake. Officials said the city's cathedral, whose El Señor de
Luren chapel is the focal point of an annual pilgrimage in October, was
severely damaged.

At least one of the church's towers collapsed.
According to news reports, some people had gathered at the church for the
celebration of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, a Roman Catholic day of
obligation celebrated Aug. 15.

Witnesses said that in the hours
after the quake the city was a picture of desolation and destruction, with
downed power poles blocking streets and looters roaming the business
district.

"The hospitals have collapsed, the doctors are treating
patients outside the four hospitals," reporter Gustavo Sulca of America TV
told Peruvian viewers from Ica. "People are roaming about the medical
centers seeking help."

The Lima newspaper El Comercio reported on
its website that Ica residents had gathered in parks and other open areas
as aftershocks continued late Wednesday.

President Garcia said he
was sending the country's health minister and two other Cabinet members to
Ica.

Garcia ordered off-duty police to report to Lima to prevent
looting and ordered public schools closed today until inspectors could
guarantee their buildings'
safety.

[email-masked]

Special correspondent León
reported from Lima and staff writer Tobar from Mexico City. Andrés
D'Alessandro of The Times' Buenos Aires Bureau contributed to this report.

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