QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Hilo, HI

No earthquake was likely felt in Hilo in the 24 hours to 12:29 am HST (10:29 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 2.0 earthquake was recorded 19 km (11 mi) northwest of Hilo, HI, at 4:36 am HST on 28 July 2021 (14:36 UTC), 39 km deep.

USGS: 7 km W of Honomu, Hawaii

23 km (14 mi) NNW of Hilo, HI

4:36 am HST, Jul 28, 2021 · · 39 km deep · released about 33 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hawaii County 44 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
4:36 am HST on 28 July 2021 ()
Where
19 km (11 mi) northwest of Hilo, HI · earthquakes near Hilo
Hawaii today
every earthquake in Hawaii in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
39 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hawaii County, 44 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1935 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, 19 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Pepeekeo, Pāpa‘ikou, Laupāhoehoe, Wainaku.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 33 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 450,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 320,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 29× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 33 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 4.9 on 2019-11-11 — about 22,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.2 3 km WSW of Honomu, Hawaii · 4 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.6 6 km NNW of Volcano, Hawaii · 41 km S 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 19.8660, -155.1925. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hawaii County, HI 44 km (27 mi) SW earthquakes near Hawaii County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 24 km WNW of Volcano, Hawaii
  2. 2.2 5 km W of Paukaa, Hawaii
  3. 2.4 7 km W of Mountain View, Hawaii
  4. 1.7 6 km S of Honoka‘a, Hawaii
  5. 2.1 9 km SW of Pa‘auilo, Hawaii
  6. 2.8 21 km WNW of Mountain View, Hawaii
  7. 2.2 9 km N of Volcano, Hawaii
  8. 1.8 6 km N of Volcano, Hawaii
  9. 1.8 22 km WNW of Volcano, Hawaii
  10. 2.5 15 km SE of Waimea, Hawaii
  11. 2.1 24 km SSW of Pa‘auilo, Hawaii
  12. 2.0 9 km NNW of Volcano, Hawaii
  13. 2.3 11 km W of Honomu, Hawaii
  14. 1.9 6 km W of Volcano, Hawaii
  15. 2.4 4 km NNW of Mountain View, 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.