EUGENE (AP) - The central Oregon Coast has been hit with a double whammy of two earthquakes in less than a month, both striking in about the same spot west of Newport.

But seismologists say the two quakes don't really portend any buildup of stresses in offshore plates that would make "the big one" any more likely.

A 4.7-magnitude undersea earthquake shook residents out of their sleep and rattled dishes along the coast late Wednesday. It followed last month's 4.9-magnitude jolt that was recorded in almost the same place.

The two temblors were really only fender benders on the geologic highway that runs just off the coast, scientists say. That offshore strip is part of a busy intersection where the hunk of Earth's crust carrying North America westward refuses to yield to the eastbound Juan de Fuca plate.

"It's not surprising that we might have earthquakes out there," said Tony Qamar, a seismologist at the Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network at the University of Washington. "As the Juan de Fuca plate moves toward North America, it puts that offshore area under a bit of stress."

But not so much stress to make the region a tectonic hot spot. The last time a similarly modest quake hit the Oregon Coast was 1963, Qamar said, and he sees no evidence at this time that the area is entering a more active phase.

Robert Dziak, a professor and seismology researcher at Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, said it's likely that the July 12 quake set off the one that hit Wednesday night. Given the four decades since any similar offshore shocks, he expects things to turn quiet again once whatever stresses have built up are relieved.

"These are really rare events," Dziak said.

Eugene Humphreys, a geology professor at the University of Oregon, said seismic science has a long way to go before it can predict earthquake activity with any accuracy.

But he said that most of the time a small earthquake is just a small earthquake.

"We recognize certain patterns, but nothing is very certain in this business," he said. "Quite often little earthquakes occur before large earthquakes, but almost all little earthquakes don't mean a big one is coming."

That doesn't mean Wednesday's quake passed without notice.

The shock wave was reported as far away as Bellingham, Wash. Almost 650 people logged onto the earthquake network's Web page to report feeling the quake, and the Lincoln County sheriff's office fielded about 200 phone calls within an hour.