Peruvian quake 8.01

Personal Report of Peru Quake from Dr. Kristen Neiling in Argentina

Over 1000 people dead---

The Peru 8.0 earthquake was felt in Chile , Bolivia , Ecuador , and even Colombia . This is considered to be the most serious earthquake in the last several decades in Peru . The only communication system working is the Internet. No water, no electricity, no telephones, no food. President Alan Garcia has called a State of Emergency for at least for the next 60 days.

Situation is getting worst---Over 1,000 dead; people are in the streets destroying entire cities looking for food, more tourists missing. Aftershocks are intensifying and people are terrified. According to sources, the city of Pisco is being reported as completely destroyed. Homes do not exist; bodies are all over the place and no hope to find people alive. Still not able to get to remote locations. All prisoners, estimated to be around 300 from the Pisco jail, escaped when one entire wall fell and left the prison open. Huge fractures in the Earth's crust are visible throughout the locations. Electric wires are hanging all over the cities blocking the main highways south of Lima to the Andes mountains. No access is possible. Pope Benedict XVI is asking all countries in the western world for help to assist Peru in this tragedy. International Red Cross and the Crescent Moon, have sent airplanes, tents, plastic covers, blankets, and water.The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake hit at 6:40 p.m. August 16 07 about 90 miles southeast of Lima at a depth of about 25 miles. Four strong aftershocks ranging from magnitudes of 5.4 to 5.9 were felt afterwards. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center responded with a tsunami warning for the coasts of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama. A tsunami watch was issued for the rest of Central America and Mexico and an advisory for Hawaii. The center canceled all the alerts after about two hours, but it said the quake had caused an estimated 10-inch tsunami near the epicenter.