Canterbury has been shaken by two quakes this afternoon - the bigger of the two at a magnitude of 4.7.

GeoNet estimated the first at 1.42pm was centred 20 kilometres northwest of Akaroa and resulted in light shaking.

It was 5km deep.

The quake may have been felt in Akaroa, Amberley, Arthur’s Pass, Ashburton, Cheviot, Christchurch, Culverden, Geraldine, Hanmer Springs, Methven, Oxford and surrounding localities.

A man who lives in the Christchurch hill suburb of Cashmere said: “It was quite long.”

“So I thought it might be building up more. It got me outside,” he told the Herald.

The second quake was a magnitude of 2.9 and GeoNet said it was “unnoticeable”.

It was centred 20km southeast of Christchurch at a depth of 4km.