LIMA, Oct. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale rocked southern Peru on Monday, causing alarm in some cities and towns, but no casualties or damage have been reported, authorities said.

    The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.8 degrees on the open-ended Richter scale, took place at 2:22 p.m. local time (1922GMT), 31 km from the town of Tarata, and 930 km southeast of the capital, Lima, Peru's Geophysics Institute confirmed.

    The tremor was felt strongly in Peru's second largest city, Arequipa, 750 km southeast of Lima, and in the country's southernmost city, Tacna, on the Chilean border, where people rushed out of buildings into open streets and plazas, a local radio reported.

    Peru is located in a region with intense volcanic and seismic activity.

    In recent weeks, the country has been rocked by several tremorsof regular intensity, of which the strongest occurred on Sept. 25 in San Martin, Peru's northeastern department, killing five people,leaving 3,000 others homeless and destroying at least 700 houses. Enditem