Two earthquakes, felt by thousands, have struck off the East Coast of the North Island within minutes of each other this evening.

The first shake, measuring magnitude 5.6, struck 135km north of Te Kaha at 8pm at a depth of 5km.

It was felt by around 2000 people, according to Geonet.

It was followed by a magnitude 4.2 tremor about five minutes later, this time 110km northwest of Te Kaha at a depth of 33km.

The second quake was felt by around 1000 people.

Both quakes were described as “weak” by GeoNet.

More to come...