ICA, PERU (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck south of the Peruvian city of Ica on early Friday afternoon, seismologists said, but no tsunami warning was immediately issued.

The 6.9-magnitude earthquake at 1.54 p.m. local time (1854 GMT) was centered about 51 kilometers (32 miles) south-southwest of Ica, the capital of the Ica Region in southern Peru. It struck about 34.9 kilometers (21.7 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there was no threat of a destructive, widespread tsunami. "However, earthquakes of this size sometimes generate local tsunamis that can be destructive along coasts located within a hundred kilometers (62 miles) of the earthquake epicenter," the center said in a bulletin.

It was not immediately known if there was damage or casualties from the earthquake.

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