The Irish Red Cross today launched an aid appeal for victims of the Peru earthquake which has killed at least 47 people.
The Red Cross has already begun co-ordinating search and rescue operations on the ground. Donations can be made on 1850 50 70 70.
Peru is rushing aid to towns devastated by an earthquake measuring 7.9 in magnitude that killed at least 47 people, injured 550 and flattened villages.
Expressing profound sadness for the victims, President Valentin Paniagua is due today to survey the zone of destruction where the quake triggered mudslides that blocked roads and left tumbled masonry littering sidewalks. He called the situation "very serious".
The worst-hit areas appeared to be around Moquegua, 856 miles (1,369 km) south of Lima, and in Arequipa, Peru's second largest city 630 miles (1,011 km) south of the capital, where a tower had toppled from the cathedral in the colonial central square.
Some of the injured lay outside in the streets on hospital beds with intravenous drips as doctors feared aftershocks could cause more injuries from falling debris inside buildings.
"There is an enormous quantity of injured and the dead are literally thrown about on the ground," said an RPP radio reporter in Moquegua, a small town with cobbled streets and mud adobe houses, where 20 to 25 people were reported injured.
By early today, there were 26 aftershocks, Peruvian officials said. Aftershocks ranged up to 6.2 magnitude.
Additional reporting: