QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.1ml

52 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii

Yes. A magnitude 4.1 earthquake was recorded 52 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii, at 6:39 pm HST on 26 March 2023 (04:39 UTC), 7.8 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 7.8 km deep · released about 23 tons of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hawaii County 94 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
Hawaii today
every earthquake in Hawaii in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 4.1 (ml)
Depth
7.8 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Nearest
Hawaii County, 94 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Lo'ihi Seamount, 5 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1259 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 106 km (66 mi) from the epicentre. 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 23 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 7,400× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 330× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.1 about 23 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 48× more

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 6.2 on 2021-10-10 — about 1,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 11 km SE of Naalehu, Hawaii · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 Kilauea area, Hawaii · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 35 km SSE of Naalehu, Hawaii · 30 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 54 km SE of P?hala, Hawaii · 15 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 45 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii · 7 km NW 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 18.8155, -155.1603. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hawaii County, HI 94 km (58 mi) NNW earthquakes near Hawaii County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 10 km SSE of P?hala, Hawaii
  2. 1.9 8 km SSW of P?hala, Hawaii
  3. 2.3 10 km E of P?hala, Hawaii
  4. 1.6 12 km ESE of P?hala, Hawaii
  5. 1.9 14 km ESE of P?hala, Hawaii
  6. 1.9 10 km ENE of Naalehu, Hawaii
  7. 2.3 5 km SSE of P?hala, Hawaii
  8. 2.2 9 km SE of P?hala, Hawaii
  9. 2.1 11 km E of P?hala, Hawaii
  10. 2.0 10 km E of P?hala, Hawaii
  11. 2.2 13 km ESE of P?hala, Hawaii
  12. 1.7 19 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
  13. 2.3 21 km E of P?hala, Hawaii
  14. 1.7 Island of Hawaii, Hawaii
  15. 2.2 10 km E of P?hala, 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.