Multiple earthquakes hit in the Pacific Ocean off the southern Oregon coast Thursday night and Friday morning, but there's no cause for alarm.

A magnitude-4.5 quake, largest of the five, happened about 9:22 p.m. Thursday. The quake happened about 112 miles from Port Orford, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The other quakes, which happened in the same general area, measured between magnitudes 3.5 and 4.1.

Chris Goldfinger, a professor and earthquake geologist at Oregon State University, said the earthquakes serve as a reminder that we live in a subduction zone but are nothing to worry about.

Earthquakes happen in this area all the time, he said. But he said there's no direct link between these earthquakes and the so-called "big one" -- and if anything, they relieve a bit of internal stress in the Gorda Plate, which covers the area, instead of increasing it.

Magnitude-4 earthquakes are felt by humans and may cause damage, according to the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network.

Port Orford is a small city in Curry County on the Oregon coast.

-- Jim Ryan