WASHINGTON/LIMA: A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck a remote Amazon region of Peru Wednesday, shaking office buildings in the capital almost 600 kilometers away, according to witnesses and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Seismologists from the USGS said the epicenter of the quake, which occurred shortly before 1800 GMT, was 82 kilometers north of the town of Puccalpa, which lies in a sparsely populated region in central-eastern Peru near the border with Brazil, and the center of the quake was 145 kilometers underground.

Local media said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in central parts of the Andean nation and the U.S. government’s warning center said no destructive tsunami was created.

However, telephone lines were reported to be down down acrossthe eastern areas of the country.

On Aug. 15, 2007, an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 devastated the province of Ica, just south of Lima, killing some 600 people and causing extensive damage to area buildings and infrastructure.

In 2009, more than 140 earthquakes with magnitudes of 4.0 and above were felt in Peru, located in a region that geologists call the Pacific Ring of Fire due to its intense seismic activity.