Magnitude 7.3 earthquake hits near coast of Peru, triggering tsunami threat

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 has hit off the coast of Peru, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). It triggered temporary tsunami warnings along the Peruvian coast.

The quake struck 42 kilometers (26 miles) south-southwest of Acari at 9:18am GMT on Sunday, the USGS reported. The epicenter of the quake was about 12km deep.

The US National Weather Service warned of the possibility of “hazardous tsunami waves” along the coast of Peru within 300km of the epicenter. The alert was lifted after about an hour. The weather agency immediately stated that there was no threat for Hawaii, American Samoa, as well as Guam.