image from USGS interactive map showing the location of Friday’s M-5.0 earthquake

(BIVN) – County officials are encouraging those impacted the recent earthquakes on the southeast flank of Mauna Loa volcano to report the damage to civil defense.

In a Monday “Mauna Loa earthquake damage assessment message”, Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense stated that it has conducted preliminary damage assessments at locations in Pahala that reported damage from the magnitude 4.6 and magnitude 5.0 earthquakes on Friday, October 14.

“To capture the extent of damages, Civil Defense is requesting residents and businesses that have yet to report damage sustained from Friday’s earthquake to call and report your situation to Civil Defense at 808-935-0031,” the radio message said.

The two earthquakes were strong enough to do minor local damage because they occurred within 24 seconds of each other, “creating shaking of longer duration and possibly greater intensity than either of the earthquakes would have created on their own”, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said.

The earthquakes and their many aftershocks did not cause any changes in Mauna Loa monitoring data streams. The giant Hawaiʻi island volcano is not erupting and there are no signs of an imminent eruption at this time, scientists say.

“However, Mauna Loa continues to be in a state of heightened unrest as indicated by increased earthquake activity and inflation of the summit,” a Monday update from USGS added.