Magnitude-4.2 earthquake felt in West Hawaii

The west side of the Big Island was hit with a magnitude-4.2 earthquake at 7:41 a.m. today, according to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

The earthquake was located 45 miles west-northwest of Kalaoa, Kona at a depth of 0.6 miles. A map showing the earthquake location is posted on HVO’s website at https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/earthquakes.

More details are available at the National Earthquake Information Center website at https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/hv72569232/.

At that intensity, significant damage to buildings or structures is not expected. The USGS “Did you feel it?” website (https://earthquake.usgs.gov/dyfi/) received over 75 felt reports within the first hour of the earthquake.

According to HVO Scientist-in-Charge Ken Hon, “The earthquake was likely due to readjustment of the oceanic plate from the weight of the island chain and poses no significant hazard. The earthquake had no apparent effect on either Mauna Loa or Kīlauea and the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reported that no tsunami was generated by the earthquake.”