19 people were injured after a powerful 7.0-magnitude earthquake rocked Peru, near the border with Brazil, destroying several buildings while traffic in the southern part of the country is blocked, reports said.

According to the information of the Peruvian institute of geophysics the epicentre of the quake has been located near the town of Pucallpa, approximately 600 kilometres from the capital city Lima., in a sparsely populated region.

So far there have been no reports of damage or injuries, but telephone lines and electricity were temporarily cut off in Pucallpa. The quake was also felt in Ica province.

Two minor aftershocks were felt within minutes of the quake, which lasted between 5 and 10 seconds.

Peru is among the world's most seismically active countries and in 2007 a deadly quake killed 600 people and largely destroyed the coastal city of Pisco.

Earthquake