QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Volcano, HI

No earthquake was likely felt in Volcano in the 24 hours to 11:24 am HST (21:24 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 6 km (4 mi) W, at 11:09 am HST on 11 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Volcano

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) north-northwest of Volcano, HI, at 8:18 am HST on 18 December 2023 (18:18 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 21 km NNW of Volcano, Hawaii

26 km (16 mi) WSW of Hilo, HI

8:18 am HST, Dec 18, 2023 · · 11 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Volcano 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
8:18 am HST on 18 December 2023 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) north-northwest of Volcano, HI · earthquakes near Volcano
Hawaii today
every earthquake in Hawaii in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hawaii County, 20 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Ka'oiki-Honu'apo fault system, 21 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 1062 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Volcano, 21 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: Mountain View, Fern Forest, Eden Roc, Hilo, Kurtistown, Wainaku.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 68× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 6.9 on 2018-05-04 — about 48,000,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 41 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.7 17 km SSW of Leilani Estates, Hawaii · 46 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 Island of Hawai`i, Hawaii · 43 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 6.7 22 km W of Volcano, Hawaii · 25 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.4 Kaoiki area, Hawaii · 23 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 6.2 Kilauea South Flank, Hawaii · 43 km SE 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 19.6165, -155.3153. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hawaii County, HI 20 km (12 mi) W earthquakes near Hawaii County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 9 km SE of Eden Roc, Hawaii
  2. 1.8 17 km SE of Waimea, Hawaii
  3. 1.7 13 km NE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  4. 1.8 6 km SW of Laupāhoehoe, Hawaii
  5. 2.1 14 km SW of Volcano, Hawaii
  6. 3.4 14 km SW of Volcano, Hawaii
  7. 2.4 14 km SW of Volcano, Hawaii
  8. 4.0 13 km SW of Volcano, Hawaii
  9. 2.1 6 km NNE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  10. 2.0 11 km E of Pāhala, Hawaii
  11. 2.9 15 km S of Volcano, Hawaii
  12. 2.2 15 km SSE of Volcano, Hawaii
  13. 1.9 28 km NNW of Pāhala, Hawaii
  14. 2.7 6 km NNW of Volcano, Hawaii
  15. 2.0 10 km ENE of Pāhala, 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.