earthquake in Peru

450 people killed in today's earthquake... :(

in Guardian Unlimited - 6.45pm

"At least 450 people have been killed and more than 1,500 injured after a powerful earthquake hit the coast of Peru today.

The quake - which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale and struck near the capital, Lima - toppled buildings, set off landslides and generated a tsunami alert that was later lifted.

(...)The quake struck at 6.40pm local time (12.40am BST), and was followed by four strong aftershocks. The US geological survey said the epicentre was 90 miles south-east of Lima.
The city of Ica, which has a population of 650,000 and is 165 miles south-east of Lima, was one of the worst hit areas. Mr Calderon described the situation there as "dramatic".

(...)The government rushed police, soldiers, doctors and aid to Ica, but a cameraman attempting to reach the city said traffic on the Pan American highway was paralysed by giant cracks in the road and fallen power lines.

(...)Homes in Lima collapsed and many people fled into the streets as the city shook for more than a minute.

(...)Police reported that large boulders had been shaken loose from hills and were blocking the country's central motorway, to the east of Lima.

(...)The last earthquake of this magnitude to strike Peru came in 2001, when 71 people were killed in and around the southern Andean city of Arequipa.

The country is situated in a zone of intense seismic activity, where the Nazca plate pushes against the South American continental plate below the Pacific."