Magnitude 4.7 earthquake shakes Hawaii island but poses no tsunami threat
COURTESY USGS
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake shook the west side of Hawaii island just before midnight on Saturday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake shook the west side of Hawaii island late Saturday night.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered less than 2 miles east-northeast of Kailua-Kona at a depth of about 7 miles at 11:50 p.m. Saturday.
There was no threat of a tsunami, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.
The USGS’ “Did you feel it?” self-reported online survey recorded more than 1,000 responses within the first hour of the earthquake, with most coming from the Kailua-Kona area but from as far as Kauai.
The USGS’ Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in an overnight statement that this is the second earthquake with a magnitude greater than 4.0 beneath Hualalai volcano in the last 25 years.
“This event was primarily lateral slip along a sub-vertical fault and does not appear to be directly related to magmatic activity. Aftershocks are likely, and some may be felt,” said the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientist-in-charge Ken Hon said the earthquake had no apparent effect on Mauna Loa or Kilauea Volcano’s ongoing summit eruption. Monitoring networks have not detected any significant changes in activity at the summit or along the rift zones of Kilauea resulting from the earthquake.
