4.2-magnitude quake shakes island

Subscribe Now Choose a package that suits your preferences.
Start Free Account Get access to 7 premium stories every month for FREE!
Already a Subscriber? Current print subscriber? Activate your complimentary Digital account.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported a 4.2 magnitude earthquake southeast of Mauna Loa Wednesday afternoon.

The quake, which began at 2:21 p.m. Wednesday, originated from a point about 11 miles north of Pahala and 19 miles below sea level.

According to an HVO report, the quake could be felt as far away as Oahu and Kauai, although the shaking was not intense enough for any significant structural damage to be expected.

Hawaii County Civil Defense reported shortly after the quake that it posed no tsunami threat to the island.

Ken Hon, HVO scientist-in-charge, said in a statement that the quake had no apparent effect on the behavior of Kilauea or Mauna Loa. Nor does the quake represent any change to the volcanoes’ seismic activity during the past year.

Wednesday’s quake was the largest quake out of the 739 that have originated from the island in the past month.