Lima, April 27 (RHC)-- An earthquake of 5.7 magnitude in the Richter scale has hit the northern coast of Peru, according to the Peruvian Geophysical Institute.

The quake occurred at 23:35 GMT on Sunday and the epicenter was located some 77.5 miles to the south of San Pedro de Lloc in the northern region of La Libertad, some 403 miles north of Lima. There has been no information on damage or casualties.

Peru is located in the so-called Ring of Fire quake zone, which is home to over 75 percent of the world's active and dormant volcanoes and accounts for about 90 percent of all earthquakes.

According to the Richter scale, earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0-5.9 are considered to be moderate and can lead to casualties and cause damage to buildings and infrastructure.