Peru was struck by a powerful earthquake Wednesday, but the death toll continues to rise as rescue workers find new victims under piles of debris.

Latest figures made public by the Institute for Civil Defence indicate that at least 437 people died after the 8.0-magnitude quake struck the central Peruvian coast at 23:40:58 UTC (18:40:58 local time) on Wednesday.

The same authority in Lima said 829 people are wounded and more than 16,000 families have been affected by the temblor. The region was seriously jolted for about two minutes, but dozens of aftershock continued to wreak havoc among the population.

Approximately 80,000 people lost their homes in the Ica region, 300 kilometers south of Lima, authorities informed. Most damages were reported in this coastal region, entire buildings crumbling in Pisco, Ica and Chincha. Hospitals are overcrowded, as hundreds of people remained on the streets scared of a stronger aftershock. Electricity and telephone services have been cut off since Wednesday, hampering the rescue operations.

About 250 people died in Pisco, where the country’s president Alan Garcia arrived on Thursday to present his condolences and assist the rescue operations. The city’s mayor said 70 per cent of Pisco has been destroyed and hospitals can’t cope with the rising number of victims.

Some of the patients will be flown to Lima, where the temblor didn’t cause major damage. A state of emergency has been declared in the Ica region for two months along with three days of national mourning.

Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil were also rocked by the quake, but not with the same intensity as Peru.

Members of the United Nations and humanitarian agencies pledged to send aid and rescue workers in the affected region. The United States also offered their support, already sending a team of aid workers to Lima in order to assist the Peruvian authorities, the White House informed.

Supplies were sent by the International Federation of the Red Cross and other branches in neighbouring countries are standing by to provide further assistance and provisions.

The quake’s epicenter was located 41 kilometres beneath the Pacific Ocean floor, 45 kilometres west-north-west of Chincha Alta, and 145 kilometres south-south-east of Lima, according to the US Geological Survey.