QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Honoka‘a, HI

No earthquake was likely felt in Honoka‘a in the 24 hours to 1:10 am HST (11:10 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 15 km (10 mi) SSE, at 12:30 pm HST on 6 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Honoka‘a

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) south of Honoka‘a, HI, at 10:11 pm HST on 20 August 2023 (08:11 UTC), 39 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 13 km S of Honoka‘a, Hawaii

52 km (32 mi) NW of Hilo, HI

10:11 pm HST, Aug 20, 2023 · · 39 km deep · released about 290 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Honoka‘a Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hawaii County 40 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
10:11 pm HST on 20 August 2023 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) south of Honoka‘a, HI · earthquakes near Honoka‘a
Hawaii today
every earthquake in Hawaii in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
39 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Hawaii County, 40 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1114 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Honoka‘a, 14 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: Waimea, Laupāhoehoe.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 290 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 51,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 36,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 290 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 5.3 on 2019-04-14 — about 10,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.7 14 km SW of Puako, Hawaii · 47 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 3 km WSW of Honomu, Hawaii · 37 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 30 km WNW of Volcano, Hawaii · 49 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 19.9562, -155.4903. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hawaii County, HI 40 km (25 mi) S earthquakes near Hawaii County
Maui County, HI 153 km (95 mi) NW earthquakes near Maui County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 8 km SSW of Honoka‘a, Hawaii
  2. 2.4 8 km SSW of Honoka‘a, Hawaii
  3. 2.1 9 km S of Pa‘auilo, Hawaii
  4. 2.4 7 km WSW of Waimea, Hawaii
  5. 2.4 9 km S of Pa‘auilo, Hawaii
  6. 1.8 17 km SE of Waimea, Hawaii
  7. 1.8 6 km SW of Laupāhoehoe, Hawaii
  8. 1.8 16 km S of Honoka‘a, Hawaii
  9. 2.1 10 km SE of Waimea, Hawaii
  10. 1.8 21 km NNW of Volcano, Hawaii
  11. 2.0 26 km SE of Waikoloa, Hawaii
  12. 3.1 21 km SW of Laupāhoehoe, Hawaii
  13. 1.5 17 km W of Wainaku, Hawaii
  14. 2.2 13 km SE of Waimea, Hawaii
  15. 2.1 10 km SSW of Pa‘auilo, 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.