QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Hilo, HI

No earthquake was likely felt in Hilo in the 24 hours to 8:19 pm HST (06:19 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 41 km (25 mi) S, at 3:09 pm HST on 12 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 6 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hilo

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) west of Hilo, HI, at 5:22 pm HST on 4 July 2019 (03:22 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: Island of Hawaii, Hawaii

51 km (31 mi) W of Hilo, HI

5:22 pm HST, Jul 4, 2019 · · 16 km deep · released about 10 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hilo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hawaii County 20 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
5:22 pm HST on 4 July 2019 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) west of Hilo, HI · earthquakes near Hilo
Hawaii today
every earthquake in Hawaii in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hawaii County, 20 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2689 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hilo, 49 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 92× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.4 on 2018-06-04 — about 370,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 22 km W of Volcano, Hawaii · 40 km SSE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 14 km SW of Puako, Hawaii · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.5 Hualālai area, Hawaii · 46 km W of this epicentre
  4. 6.4 Kaoiki area, Hawaii · 41 km SSE of this epicentre
  5. 6.2 8 km SW of Volcano, Hawaii · 49 km SSE of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 19.7715, -155.5578. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hawaii County, HI 20 km (13 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hawaii County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

35 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.7 27 km E of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
  2. 2.4 26 km W of Volcano, Hawaii
  3. 2.2 9 km W of Volcano, Hawaii
  4. 2.1 21 km E of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
  5. 1.8 6 km SW of Volcano, Hawaii
  6. 2.2 31 km SE of Waikoloa, Hawaii
  7. 1.8 5 km WSW of Volcano, Hawaii
  8. 1.7 11 km WSW of Volcano, Hawaii
  9. 1.9 26 km N of P?hala, Hawaii
  10. 2.1 15 km NNW of P?hala, Hawaii
  11. 2.2 13 km ENE of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
  12. 1.9 7 km WSW of Volcano, Hawaii
  13. 1.7 29 km E of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
  14. 2.0 29 km E of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
  15. 2.2 7 km ENE of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.