At a glance
Updated 15 August 2008 10:34 AM BST
A devastating earthquake shook the area south of Peru's capital Lima on the evening of August 15, 2007, killing 520 and destroying 40,000 homes.
- 7.9 on Richter scale at epicentre
- Tens of thousands left homeless
- More than 10 percent of Peruvians live on less than a dollar a day.
The coastal province of Ica south of Lima was the worst hit region, including the cities of Chincha, Ica and Pisco.
Rural communities were especially hard hit, and struggled to receive as much resources for rebuilding as towns.
The Andes mountain range, which runs north-to-south along Peru's Pacific coast, has many active fault lines.
In 1970, an earthquake killed around 50,000 Peruvians in catastrophic avalanches of ice and mud that buried the city of Yungay.
