UPDATE: No Tsunami Threat from 4.4 Big Island Quake
UPDATE: June 21, 11:30 a.m.
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recorded a magnitude-4.5 offshore earthquake located southeast of Hawaiian Ocean View, Island of Hawaiʻi, on Wednesday, June 21, 2017, at 10:09 a.m. HST.
The quake was preliminarily reported as a 4.4-magnitude event.
The earthquake was located about 16 miles southeast of Hawaiian Ocean View at a depth of 24 miles.
A map showing the location of the earthquake is posted on HVO’s website.
The USGS “Did you feel it?” website received over 150 felt reports within the first 30 minutes of the earthquake. The maximum intensity of shaking reported by Island of Hawai‘i residents was IV on the Mercalli Intensity Scale, indicating light shaking.
According to HVO Seismic Network Manager Brian Shiro, the deep earthquake was due to bending of the oceanic plate from the weight of the island and poses no significant hazard.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) reported that no tsunami was generated by the earthquake, which had no apparent effect on Kīlauea Volcano’s ongoing eruptions.
PREVIOUS POST: June 21, 10:55 a.m.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported on Wednesday, June 21, at 10:20 a.m.. that an earthquake that occurred at approximately 10:09 a.m. was not large enough to cause a tsunami for the Island or State of Hawai‘i.
Preliminary data indicates that the earthquake measured 4.4 in magnitude and was centered in the vicinity of South Point.
As in all earthquakes, be aware of the possibility of aftershocks. If the earthquake was strongly felt in your area, precautionary checks should be made for any damages, especially to utility connections of gas, water, and electricity.
If the earthquake was strongly felt in your area, precautionary checks should be made for any damages, especially to utility connections of gas, water and electricity.
According to the USGS Did You Feel It website, the majority of felt reports were from individuals in the Naʻalehu area. The site received 36 felt reports within the first ten minutes of the earthquake.
The USGS reports that the Big Island earthquake was centered:
- 9 miles SSE of Naʻalehu
- 18 miles SE of Hawaiian Ocean View
- 19 miles SSW of Pahala
- 61 miles SSW of Hilo
- 220 miles SE of Honolulu