Authorities fight looting, disease in quake-hit Peru

PISCO (AFP) - Health authorities in Peru on Sunday battled the spread of infectious diseases in the wake of a devastating earthquake as President Alan Garcia threatened a curfew to stop looting.

"I have ordered to use the harshest measures and if needed to impose a curfew," Garcia told reporters in Pisco, the town hit hardest by Wednesday's quake, where he has been monitoring rescue efforts since Friday.

Amid increasing reports of looting and assaults, Garcia on Saturday ordered more troops to the quake-stricken area and promised that authorities would keep the peace "whatever the cost."

Garcia tried to play down reports of looting in Pisco and Chincha, saying they were nothing more than "rumors". But an RPP radio reporter in Chincha broke down in tears describing the prevailing lawlessness in the city, which he said had been devastated by the earthquake and left at the mercy of marauding gangs of armed thugs.

A government statement out of Lima, meanwhile, said 1,000 military had been sent to help 2,000 police officers patrol streets in Pisco, Chincha, Ica and Canete, with orders to "deal firmly" with looting.