Peru: aftershocks from earthquakes in southern Andes

Hundreds of people in Peru's southern Andes remained in streets and public parks Monday as a wave of aftershocks from two earthquakes over the weekend continued to rattle the area. At least 10 people were injured and some 400 adobe homes in several towns and villages were destroyed or severely damaged Saturday by the quakes _ measuring 4.2 and 4 _ that hit the Southern Andean Department of Moquegua, about 870 kilometers (540 miles) southeast of the capital, Lima. Civil Defense Institute chief Juan Luis Podesta said Monday that more than 170 aftershocks had hit in the 48 hours following the quakes, the AP reports.

Authorities said the destructive force of the Moquegua quakes was magnified because many of the houses in the area had never been repaired after a devastating 8.1-magitude temblor hit the neighboring Department of Arequipa in June 2001.

The earthquakes Saturday came less than a week after a powerful 7.5-magnitude quake rocked northern Peru on Sept. 25, killing five people and injuring 76, and leaving 6,440 people homeless, according to a Civil Defense Institute report. AM