Quake shakes Big Isle, Maui; no tsunami generated

A magnitude 4.2 quake struck north of Hawaii island late Thursday night, but was not strong enough to generate a tsunami.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 11:16 p.m. and was centered about 65 miles north of Hilo and 81 miles east of Kihei, at a depth of about 14 miles.

The size and location was initially reported at 4.4 magnitude and centered 35 miles south-southeast of Hilo, at a depth of 18 miles, but the USGS later updated the quake’s coordinates.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center on Oahu said no tsunami was generated.

But the USGS “Did you feel it?” web page for the event received scores of responses from throughout the Big Isle, Maui and even from Oahu.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory notes that today’s earthquake is the largest recorded from the same area since a magnitude-5.3 earthquake that occurred in July 2005. In January 1938, a magnitude-6.9 earthquake struck northeast of Maui and was felt statewide. These events are related to tectonic bending of the Earth’s crust due to the weight of the islands.

According to HVO Scientist-in-Charge Christina Neal the earthquake had no apparent effect on Kīlauea Volcano’s ongoing eruptions. “HVO monitoring networks have not detected any significant changes in activity at the summit or along the rift zones of Kīlauea resulting from the earthquake.”