Magnitude 6.4 quake rattles Peru

  • Updated
  • 18/07/2017
Peru, Earthquake
No tsunami warnings have been issued yet. Photo credit: US Geology Survey

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake has struck near the coast of southern Peru on Tuesday afternoon (NZ Time).

The US Geological Survey suggests the tremour hit south of the capital Lima near the border with Chile.

Tsunami warning after massive Alaskan quake

Earthquake
The projected path of the tsunami. Photo credit: US Tsunami Warning System

A powerful earthquake of magnitude-7.8 which hit Alaska is expected to cause tsunami waves, the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre says.

The quake struck in the northern Pacific Ocean between the tip of the Aleutian Islands and Russia's Kamchatka, according to the US Geological Survey which initially recorded it as 7.7.

The earthquake struck at 1:34pm on Tuesday local time 200km from the city of Nikol'skoye on Bering island off the Kamchatka Peninsula.

The epicentre was west of Attu, the westernmost and largest island in the Near Islands group of Alaska's remote Aleutian Islands.

The earthquake, initially reported as a magnitude-7.7, was very shallow - only 10km below the seabed, which would have amplified its effect, but it was quite far from any mainland.

The US Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said "hazardous tsunami waves are possible for coasts located within 300km of the earthquake epicentre."

Tsunami waves, however, were unlikely to reach Kamchatka's eastern coast, some 500 km away.

The quake was followed by several aftershocks, including a pair above magnitude-5.

The NZ Ministry of Civil Defence said there is no tsunami threat to New Zealand following the quake.

Newshub/Reuters