UPDATE 1-Strong 6.8-magnitude quake shakes central Peru

12:11am EDT

LIMA, Aug 24 (Reuters) - A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck a remote Amazon region of Peru on Wednesday, shaking office buildings in the capital almost 600 kilometers (370 miles) away, witnesses and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Local media said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in central parts of the Andean nation.

The USGS said the epicenter of the quake was at a depth of 145 km (90 miles), near the town of Pucallpa, which lies in a sparsely populated region in central-eastern Peru close to the Brazilian border.

Telephone lines were down in the eastern area, which is not a mining region. Earthquake-prone Peru is a leading metals exporter. (Reporting by Caroline Stauffer; Writing by Helen Popper, Editing by Sandra Maler)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/ ... AG20110824