A magnitude 4.2 earthquake rumbled just offshore of the Big Island of Hawaii on Tuesday morning, but officials said no tsunamis were expected.
The temblor was located about 5 miles southeast of the community of Pāhala, just off the southern shore of the Big Island, at 9:37 a.m. local time (3:37 p.m. ET), according to the U.S. logical Survey.
The office of Gov. Josh Green said in X, “A local earthquake has occurred — 4.0 magnitude off the Ka‘u coast of the Big Island. Shaking may have been felt in some areas, but No Tsunami was generated.”
The USGS said the temblor was unlikely to produce damage.
“No damage to buildings or infrastructure expected based on earthquake intensity,” it said.
The agency received about 40 reports from those who said they felt the earthquake.
The U.S. logical Survey measured it at magnitude 4.2. The agency said the depth of the temblor was roughly 20 miles below the ocean’s surface.
The temblor shook amid a series of small earthquakes in the region in the last few days that ranged in magnitude from 1.5 to 2.3. Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island remained active last week, with the USGS logging several events as the Halema’uma’u crater erupted, spewed lava, and vented steam.
“The earthquake had no apparent impact on either Mauna Loa or Kīlauea volcanoes,” the USGS said.
The area has been the location of multiple small earthquakes, what the USGS describes as a “seismic swarm,” since 2019.
“Earthquakes in this region have been observed at least as far back as the 1960s,” it said.
