6.9-magnitude earthquake rattles Peru

LIMA, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Central Peru was rattled by an earthquake Sunday night, injuring at least two people and causing some damage to buildings.

The U.S. Geological Survey measured the temblor at a magnitude of 6.9 on the Richter scale, revised down from an original 7.0.

One house was destroyed and 19 buildings, including a hospital, three schools and a church were damaged, Peru's Emergency Operations Center said.

The quake struck from a depth of 101 km (63 miles), in a mountainous region 43 km (27 miles) east-northeast of Tambo, some 700 km east-southeast of the capital Lima.

Authorities ruled out a potential tsunami threat to Hawaii, citing the inland location of the epicenter.

The shaker followed on the heels of a 6.0-magnitude event in California some 12 hours earlier that injured at least 70 people, and a 6.4-magnitude quake in Chile, north of Santiago, on Saturday afternoon.

While scientists have not found conclusive evidence that strong quakes in one region can cause others elsewhere, there is some evidence that a major earthquake may precede significant seismic activity elsewhere in the world.