UPDATE: A seismic analyst has reviewed the event, and the USGS is now saying the earthquake was a 4.5 magnitude.
On Monday evening, an earthquake was felt by residents all over Hawaii Island at around 6:30 pm.
Hawaii County Civil Defense relayed the message from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, which estimated the earthquake at a 5.0 magnitude, saying that no tsunami was generated by the event.
Preliminary information from the USGS measured the magnitude at 4.4, and showed the earthquake was basically centered under the inactive Mauna Kea volcano, located about 5 miles SSW of Keanakolu, and 7 miles ENE of the Mauna Kea summit. The earthquake occurred at a hypocentral depth of 19 miles.
More information to come as it becomes available…
Under Mauna Kea? An inactive volcano? Well that’s bloody wonderful.
Mother Earth has PMS, 13,000 year cycle.
Geez what dumb comments.
Earthquakes all over the planet, a sign of the year 2012 to come.
Pirate-Vampire just because there was a large earthquake under the Inactive volcano does not mean anything particularly. The Volcano is 9 km high roughly and the earthquake was located at a depth of 19 mi, this is far too deep to be directly magma related.
Interesting comments – but just because an earthquake was so deep does not mean it is not magma related. It just means that magma is not close to the surface and that an eruption is not imminent at Mauna Kea. But of course it IS magma related because the Big Island is sitting on top of one of the earth’s “hot spots”. (i.e., KILAUEA has been erupting magma for quite some time dudes!). The fact is that the Big Island is going to lose it’s lower “flank” into the ocean one day. This may be the beginning of a long cycle of earthquakes which eventually cause part of the Big Island to slide into the ocean.