HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY RECORDED a magnitude 4.8 earthquake this morning at 5:54 a.m. It was followed by several aftershocks, with the largest measuring magnitude 3.4 at 6:06 a.m. The earthquakes were located five miles south of the summit of Kilauea, almost directly below the Kulanaokuaiki campground in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, at a depth of about 20 miles. According to Wes Thelen, HVO’s seismic network manager, “these earthquakes were most likely structural adjustments of the Earth’s crust due to the weight of the island on the underlying mantle. The earthquake likely occurred on a near-horizontal fault plane in the mantle, which has hosted earthquakes in this region before. Despite their location near Kilauea’s summit, it’s unlikely that the earthquakes were volcanic in nature due to their depth, which is below and offset from the volcano’s known magma plumbing system.” HVO scientist-in-charge Jim Kauahikaua added that the earthquakes had no apparent effect on Kilauea’s ongoing eruptions. “HVO monitoring networks have not detected any significant changes in activity at the summits or rift zones of Kilauea or other Hawaiian volcanoes.” The magnitude 4.8 earthquake was felt throughout the Island of Hawai`i, as well as on parts of Maui and O`ahu. The USGS “Did you feel it?” website received almost 400 felt reports within the first hour of the earthquake. Some of the reports follow: Volcano – windows cracked, doors opened and a refrigerator slid across the kitchen. Kea`au – table, house, and computer shaking, animals hiding, chicken clucking softly. Hapuna beach – woke up to the hotel bed shaking. Kamuela – little wake-up call. Honoka`a – very loud shaking; house and windows rattled loudly. Honolulu – I woke up due to the feeling of shaking of my bed left and right. Honolulu – Just happened to be awake, and my bed slightly shook for a couple seconds. Visitors staying at Pahala Plantation Cottages said they heard doors and windows rattling and that they thought it felt different than quakes in their California home. Kauahikaua said the larger event is only the second earthquake with a magnitude greater than four to occur at this location and depth since the start of Kilauea’s ongoing East Rift Zone eruption in 1983. The first one occurred on February 17, 2000. There were six such earthquakes in the 20 years before Kilauea’s ongoing East Rift Zone eruption began. For information on recent earthquakes in Hawai`i and eruption updates, see hvo.wr.usgs.gov.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Aug 2013 02:43:06 +0000
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