A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of southern Peru on Sunday but there was no immediate threat of tsunami, government scientists said.

The Geophysical Institute of Peru said the quake was centered in the Pacific at a depth of 25 kilometers (16 miles) off the coast of Arequipa department.

The government decided against activating the tsunami warning system.

The US Geological Survey put the magnitude 6.0 and said the epicenter of the quake was 19.9 kilometers deep. 

"At the moment no material or personal damage is reported," the National Institute of Civil Defense said in a statement. 

The event was perceived as being "between moderate and strong by the population," the official report added.

Peru, with some 33 million inhabitants, lies in the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, a vast area of intense seismic activity that runs along the west coast of the Americas.

Peru is hit by hundreds of detectable quakes every year.