Lima: On Friday, an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale shattered Peru. The quake recorded as to strike 169 km north of Barranca at around 9:26 pm (UTC). The temblor was situated at a depth of 99 km, No tsunami warning has been issued and no casualties or damage to property has been reported so far.

Peru is situated on the 'Ring of Fire', an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean which is vulnerable to frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Peru is essentially a tropical country, with its northern tip nearly touching the Equator. Despite its tropical location, a great diversity of climate, of way of life, and of economic activity is brought about by the extremes of elevation and by the southwest winds that sweep in across the cold Peru Current (or Humboldt Current), which flows along its Pacific shoreline. The immense difficulties of travel posed by the Andes have long impeded national unity. Iquitos, on the upper Amazon, lies only about 600 miles (965 km) northeast of Lima, the capital, but, before the airplane, travelers between the cities often chose a 7,000-mile (11,250-km) trip via the Amazon, the Atlantic and Caribbean, the Isthmus of Panama, and the Pacific, rather than the shorter mountain route.

also read :Indian Army?s aggressive response toward repeated ceasefire

Peru is traditionally described in terms of three broad longitudinal regions: the arid Costa on the west; the rugged Sierra, or Andes, system in the centre; and the wet and forested Amazonia?the tropical Amazon Basin?on the east.

Last year, On January 14, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck the Arequipa coastal area, while two people died and over 120 people sustained injuries when the temblor destroyed hundreds of buildings and left thousands of others displaced.  Further details in the matter are awaited.

also read : Iran?s American-born journalist appears in US, held over by FBI