Powerful Earthquake Hits Peru, Killing at Least 17, Injuring 70

LIMA, Peru — A powerful earthquake shook Peru's coast near the capital yesterday, killing at least 17 people as it toppled homes and caused many residents to flee buildings. Authorities said the quake had generated a tsunami of undetermined size.

Peru's highly respected Cable news station Canal N reported that the 7.9-magnitude quake had caused a church to collapse in the city of Ica south of Lima, killing 17 people and injuring 70.

The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially issued a tsunami warning for the coasts of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Panama. A tsunami watch was issued for the rest of Central America and Mexico. It also issued a tsunami advisory for Hawaii.

The center later canceled the warnings and the watches, but it said the quake had caused a tsunami of unknown size.

"Sea-level readings indicate a tsunami was generated," the center said on its Web site. It did not report the tsunami's size, but said it could be large enough to "be destructive" on coastal areas near the quake's epicenter.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake hit at 7:40 p.m. EDT about 90 miles southeast of Lima at a depth of about 25 miles.