by Amelia Langford of NZPA

Gisborne residents could be forgiven for having frayed nerves after three earthquakes shook the region in the Past four days.

But GNS seismologist Martin Reyners said there's no reason for people to panic.

The recent earthquakes weren't a precursor to a larger earthquake like Christchurch's 7.1 magnitude quake on September 4, he said.

"They're all small (earthquakes) and they're in an area where we regularly get fairly moderate activity anyway," he told NZPA today.

A magnitude 4 earthquake struck Gisborne at 4.13am today. It was located 20km northwest of the city, at a depth of 25km, reported GNS Science.

That followed one yesterday morning, also magnitude 4, which was 40km northwest of Gisborne, at a depth of 30km.

On Saturday afternoon, residents were subjected to a jolt after a magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck, 40km northwest of Gisborne, at a depth of 30km.

"There's nothing to suggest that this is anything other than just the regular background activity which Gisborne people feel pretty regularly...

"It's nothing untoward and they're all happening in pretty much the same place which suggests the last two were probably largish aftershocks of that first one."

Mr Reyners said he didn't consider earthquakes scary.

"As Christchurch demonstrates we can actually design buildings to be aseismic. We can live with earthquakes, we just have to respect them," he said.

Gisborne bookshop owner Kim Pittar told NZPA said she was unfazed by the recent earthquakes.

"These little ones here -- if you're busy and you're walking around or you're driving -- you don't even realise," she said.

Despite lingering memories of Gisborne's magnitude 6.8 earthquake in 2007 which caused widespread damage, she wasn't worried about the threat of another big earthquake.

"You can't be nervous about things that haven't happened," she said.

Meanwhile aftershocks continue to rock Canterbury, almost two months after the 7.1 earthquake struck.