USGS HVO Press Release — Magnitude-4.0 Earthquake off the Northeast Coast of Hawai‘i Island
A magnitude-4.0 earthquake was located off the northeast coast of Hawai‘i Island by the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on Monday March 9, at 9:44 a.m. HST. It was located about 15 km (10 miles) northeast of Laupāhoehoe at a depth of 19 km (12 miles).
The quake resulted from internal adjustments within the Earth's crust near Mauna Kea and most likely was not associated with magma or eruptive processes. Today’s crustal adjustment, however, was more complex than that of the 2006 Kīholo Bay and Māhukona earthquakes, which were due to flexure of Earth's lithosphere under the island's weight.
People from across Hawai‘i Island, and as far away as O‘ahu, reported feeling the earthquake. Within an hour, over 300 felt reports were received on the USGS "Did you feel it?" Web site (http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/dyfi/).
This morning's earthquake occurred about 28 km (17 miles) north of the April 26, 1973, magnitude-6.2 Honomū earthquake that occurred at a depth of 38 km (24 miles). Over the last 40 years, on average, Hawai‘i Island's Hamakua coast has experienced about one magnitude-3.5 or larger earthquake per year.
Daily updates about ongoing eruptions, recent images and videos of summit and East Rift Zone volcanic activity, maps, and data about recent earthquakes in Hawaii are posted on the HVO website at https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo.
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