The death toll of the powerful earthquake that struck central Peru had climbed to at least 437 by Thursday afternoon, the Institute for Civil Defence in Lima said according to dpa. Civil Defence chief Luis Palomino said 16,659 families suffered damage to their property in Wednesday's quake, the worst in 27 years in Peru. As relief and rescue efforts continued, scores of tremors shook Peru on Thursday in aftershocks of Wednesday's powerful 8.0-magnitude earthquake, continuing to cause panic among the population. As many as 100 had been recorded by Thursday morning, with the strongest measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale. In the Ica region, the area most affected by the quake some 300 kilometres south of Lima, more than 80,000 people have been left homeless, Civil Protection officials said. The number of dead has been rising as efforts progress to remove the debris, but authorities said more survivors and bodies may be found as debris is removed.
