Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Wednesday offered his well wishes in both of Cyprus’ official languages – Turkish and Greek – as well as in English, as two strong earthquakes struck near Paphos during the day.

“I hope there has been no injury or physical damage on the island, and wish for this to serve as a reminder to us that we must stand together – without distinction between north and south – in the fae of earthquakes and other natural disasters. My thoughts are with Paphos and with all of Cyprus,” he wrote in a post on social media.

Meanwhile, the north’s ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel confirmed that his office’s natural disasters committee and Turkey’s disaster and emergency management authority (Afad) are “continuing their necessary investigation and coordination efforts to address potential aftershocks and risk situations”.

He said no physical damage had been caused by the earthquake in the north, and added that his ruling coalition is “in constant contact with the relevant institutions and is closely monitoring the situation”.

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“I extend my condolences to all our people, and I respectfully inform the public that all necessary measures will continue to be taken to protect our country from all types of disasters,” he said.

The first earthquake struck shortly after 11.30am, and measured 5.3 on the Richter scale, with its epicentre in the Paphos district village of Ayia Marina.

While no serious structural damage was recorded, people were seen exiting office buildings and homes as a precaution in the aftermath of the quake, with Ayia Marina mukhtar Marios Stylianou confirming that the epicentre village had escaped unscathed, and that its elderly residents are “well”.

The second earthquake also measured 5.3 on the Richter scale and struck shortly after 4.30pm.

Geological survey department director Christodoulos Hadjigeorgiou told the Cyprus News Agency that the second major earthquake had been “slightly weaker” than the first, though he did stress that there had been “a series” of smaller tremors throughout the day, and that the phenomenon “needs to be studied”.

According to the Euro-Mediterranean seismological centre, more than 30 tremors were detected in Cyprus throughout Wednesday, two of which had magnitudes between four and five on the Richter scale.

While the earthquakes were felt across the island, civil defence spokesman Panayiotis Liasides confirmed during an appearance on television channel Alpha that there had been “no reports of serious damage or injuries”, and that there had been “small landslides but nothing serious”.