Ecuador has been hit by another powerful earthquake.

The magnitude-6 quake has struck the country's north-west coast - but there's no word yet on injuries or damage.

Ecuadorian officials put the aftershock at 6.2-magnitude.

It comes as Ecuador's people struggle to recover from the huge 7.8 magnitude tremor which wreaked devastation last weekend, leaving 587 people dead, 155 homeless and more than 23,000 homeless according to government officials.

President Rafael Correa announced Wednesday night that he would raise sales taxes and put a one-time levy on millionaires to help pay for reconstruction.

The latest quake struck at 3am on Friday morning,  20 miles off the Ecuadorian coastline near the city of Bahía de Caráquez.

Ecuador's security minister, Cesar Navas, went on Twitter just before 5am to reassure Ecuadorians there was no threat of a tsunami.

Following three aftershocks during the night, Ecuador's President Rafael Correa tweeted that such tremors were expected and called on the country to "have strength".

Saturday's earthquake was the largest the in Ecuador since March 1987, when a 7.2-magnitude earthquake killed 1,000 people, according to the United States Geological Survey.