At least 450 people have been killed and over 1,500 injured after a powerful earthquake off the coast of Peru.
The 7.9 magnitude quake had its epicentre beneath the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Ica province, around 145km from the capital Lima.
UN assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs Margareta Wahlstrom said: 'There were so far 450 deaths counted, about 1,500 injured and almost 400 houses destroyed.'
Many buildings in the capital itself are reported to have collapsed and many residents spent the night camped on the streets following the initial 20 second quake.
However, it was the cities of Ica, Pisco and Chincha in Peru's southern coastal region that were worst hit when the tremor hit at around 7pm local time.
In Ica city, a church collapsed during a service, killing four people and leaving dozens wounded. The Peruvian Health Minister described the situation in Ica as dramatic, saying the city of 650,000 people was in ruins.
Immediately after the quake, a tsunami warning was issued for Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia, and although a small tsunami was detected, it posed no major threat and the warning was later lifted.
Peruvian President Alan Garcia has sent condolences to the families of the quake's victims and said the country, which has suffered devastating quakes in the past, narrowly escaped a major disaster.
Mr Garcia order that a convoy trucks be sent to the worst hit regions carrying medical supplies, doctors and nurses.
The US Geological Survey at first said there were two earthquakes within minutes of each other but later amended its reports to show that one quake struck about 150km southeast of Lima at a depth of around 40km.
It was followed by nine aftershocks with magnitudes of up to 6.0.
In 1970, one of the world's deadliest earthquakes killed an estimated 50,000 Peruvians in catastrophic avalanches of ice and mud that buried the city of Yungay.
The Department of Foreign Affairs is in contact with the Irish embassy in Mexico and the Honorary Consul in Lima, and according to police in Peru, there have not been any reports of Irish casualties.
