A mild earthquake generated alarm on Monday but caused no damage in the beach town of Chilca, about 60 kilometers southeast of Lima.

The earthquake, which had a magnitude of 4.1, was the second earthquake on Monday, the Geophysics Institute of Peru said.

A preliminary report said the earthquake occurred at 15:32 local time (2032 GMT) and its epicenter was about 56 kilometers southwest of Chilca, with a maritime depth of 49 kilometers.

A 5.2-magnitude quake also occurred on the northwestern coast of Peru earlier Monday. The quake, which happened at 9:09 a.m. local time (1409 GMT), had an epicenter in the ocean near Punta Negra with a depth of 15 kilometers.

There were no reports of casualties or property damage in either earthquake.

However, the earthquakes triggered alarm in the wake of a 7.9-magnitude temblor that killed 594 people and destroyed thousands of houses on Peru's southern coast in August 2007.

(Xinhua News Agency February 10, 2009)