7.5 magnitude earthquake hits Peru

(CNN) -- A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck off the coast of central Peru on Wednesday evening, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The USGS initially reported three earthquakes, but later revised those reports, blaming a a computer glitch.

There were power outages in Lima, the capital, and people ran into the streets in panic as the tremor shook office buildings, Reuters reported.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said no widespread tsunami threat existed from the quake. But it noted that "earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts within 100 kilometers [62 miles] of the earthquake epicenter."

The quake struck at 6:41 p.m. (7:41 p.m. ET) and was centered 38 miles (61 kilometers) west of Chincha Alta, Peru, and 100 miles (161 kilometers) south-southeast of Lima, according to the USGS. The epicenter was 29 miles (47 kilometers) below the Earth's surface.

In October 2005, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake centered in Pakistan killed nearly 75,000 people in Pakistan and India. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend