Earthquake near Pāpa‘ikou, HI

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 Pāpa‘ikou, 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: Hilo, Hawaiian Paradise Park, Wainaku, Kea‘au, Pepeekeo, Kurtistown.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 810,000× the energy of this one
2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 580,000× the energy of this one
3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 51× the energy of this one
4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

1. 7.7 17 km SSW of Leilani Estates, Hawaii · 50 km SSW of this epicentre Nov 29, 1975
2. 6.7 Island of Hawai`i, Hawaii · 48 km SSW of this epicentre Sep 21, 1908
3. 6.2 Kilauea South Flank, Hawaii · 48 km SSW of this epicentre May 4, 1905
4. 6.2 3 km WSW of Honomu, Hawaii · 29 km WNW of this epicentre Apr 26, 1973
5. 6.2 13 km SSE of Fern Forest, Hawaii · 50 km SSW of this epicentre Jun 26, 1989

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 19.7680, -154.8937. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

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

Aftershocks so far

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

1. 1.8 14 km SW of Leilani Estates, Hawaii 05:34 UTC
2. 1.9 14 km SSE of Fern Forest, Hawaii 00:30 UTC
3. 2.5 15 km SE of Fern Forest, Hawaii 01:07 UTC
4. 1.7 25 km WSW of Wainaku, Hawaii 03:14 UTC
5. 1.9 17 km W of Pepeekeo, Hawaii 05:19 UTC
6. 1.8 10 km SE of Fern Forest, Hawaii 01:27 UTC
7. 2.4 8 km S of Leilani Estates, Hawaii 19:43 UTC
8. 1.7 1 km NNE of Volcano, Hawaii 08:40 UTC
9. 1.8 2 km N of Volcano, Hawaii 08:15 UTC
10. 1.8 24 km WSW of Wainaku, Hawaii 01:59 UTC
11. 1.7 14 km SSE of Fern Forest, Hawaii 08:47 UTC
12. 1.8 16 km SSW of Leilani Estates, Hawaii 03:14 UTC
13. 2.8 5 km NW of Kea‘au, Hawaii 16:58 UTC
14. 1.9 22 km ESE of Leilani Estates, Hawaii 12:26 UTC
15. 1.7 22 km SW of Laupāhoehoe, Hawaii 05:34 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 04:16 UTC. QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

• The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
• Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
• ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one

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