TIKITIKI, NEW ZEALAND (BNO NEWS) -- Two strong earthquakes struck off the east coast of the North Island in New Zealand on early Friday evening, seismologists said. There were no reports of damage or casualties.

The first earthquake at 4.34 p.m. local time (0434 GMT) measured 5.8 on the Richter scale and was centered about 140 kilometers (87 miles) east of Tikitiki, a small town about 100 kilometers (62 miles) northeast of Gisborne. It struck about 33 kilometers (20 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake.

Several hours later, at 7.51 p.m. local time (0751 GMT), a stronger earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale struck the same area at a depth of 40 kilometers (25 miles), according to the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GeoNet), the country's seismological agency.

GeoNet said especially the second earthquake could be felt in some parts of the eastern region of the North Island. However, officials said there were no reports of damage or casualties from either earthquake and no tsunami alerts were issued.

New Zealand has been struck by several earthquakes during the past year. On June 13, a strong 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the city of Christchurch on the South Island, injuring 46 people. It followed a 6.3-magnitude earthquake on February 22 near the same city, killing 181 people and injuring more than 1,500 others.

The earthquake in February was the country's deadliest disaster since a powerful 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Hawke's Bay region on February 3, 1931, killing at least 256 people and injuring thousands more.

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