Shallow ‘Channel of Bones’ quake rattles O‘ahu, barely felt on Big Island

Normally when we report about a larger earthquake, it’s accompanied by a slew of comments from people around the Big Island being shaken from their routine or even rumbled from slumber, their pets tremoring in fear, pictures rattling against the wall as the house shook or other tales of how they experienced the temblor.

Every now and then, it’s the exact opposite, with people saying they didn’t feel it at all.

With so few people on the island reporting having felt a quake Tuesday a little farther to the north in the island chain, social media from here didn’t light up like it usually does when quakes happen closer to home.

A shallow magnitude-3.5 earthquake just before 2 p.m. beneath the Kaʻiwi Channel, which can be translated to “Channel of Bones” and is also known as the Molokaʻi Channel, the body of water that separates Oʻahu and Molokaʻi, definitely rattled O’ahu, but was a jitter elsewhere in the state.

The U.S. Geological Survey received more than 500 “felt reports” within the first hour after the quake. By just before 6 p.m. Tuesday, there were more than 750, the vast majority from O‘ahu.

The shaker was widely felt in and around Honolulu as well as Kailua, O‘ahu, with a few felt reports from Moloka‘i, Maui and even 3 from Big Island, one each in Captain Cook, Waimea and Pāhoa.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported the earthquake was centered 14 miles west-northwest of Maunaloa on Molokaʻi at a depth of 5 miles below sea level and had no impact on the Big Island’s Mauna Loa or Kīlauea volcanoes.

Earthquakes in the Kaʻiwi Channel region are not common but occasionally have happened in the past 200 years.

They are caused by bending of the crust beneath the islands and associated adjustments related to the weight of the islands.

Weak shaking was reported by those who felt the quake, and no damage to buildings or infrastructure was expected based on its intensity.

However, aftershocks are possible in the coming days and weeks

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues to monitor Hawaiian volcanoes for any changes.