4.8 magnitude earthquake rattles Big Island
This story was updated at 10:23 p.m. Feb. 14.
Did you feel it?
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu is reporting no tsunami is expected after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 shook the Big Island just before 9:30 p.m. today (Tuesday, Feb. 14).
The temblor struck at 9:27 p.m. about 7.5 miles southeast of Pāhala off the Ka‘ū Coast at a depth of about 20 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
“Did You Feel It” reports were coming in from many locations around the island farther away, including Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, Kailua-Kona, Hilo, Waikōloa, Waimea and Hawi. By about 10:20 p.m., there were nearly 200 responses, with most reporting light to moderate shaking.
Hawai‘i County Civil Defense advises that if the earthquake was strongly felt in your area, precautionary checks should be made for any damages, especially structural and utility connections of gas, water and electricity.
The earthquake had no apparent impact on either Mauna Loa or Kīlauea volcanoes, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. The earthquake is part of the seismic swarm under the Pāhala area, which has been going on since 2019.
Earthquakes in this region have been observed at least as far back as the 1960s.
Aftershocks are possible.