QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

Earthquake near Pāhala, HI

No earthquake was likely felt in Pāhala in the 24 hours to 2:20 am HST (12:20 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 6 km (4 mi) S, at 7:36 pm HST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Pāhala

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) south of Pāhala, HI, at 4:24 am HST on 15 August 2026 (14:24 UTC), 31 km deep.

USGS: 6 km S of Pāhala, Hawaii

4:24 am HST, Aug 15, 2026 · · 31 km deep · released about 700 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pāhala Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hawaii County 51 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
4:24 am HST on 15 August 2026 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) south of Pāhala, HI · earthquakes near Pāhala
Hawaii today
every earthquake in Hawaii in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
31 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hawaii County, 51 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Ka'oiki-Honu'apo fault system, under 1 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 67 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Pāhala, 7 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.

Likely felt in: Pāhala 7 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 700 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 700 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 6.2 on 2021-10-10 — about 89,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 42 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 22 km W of Volcano, Hawaii · 32 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 Kaoiki area, Hawaii · 33 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 20 km SSW of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.2 8 km SW of Volcano, Hawaii · 35 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 6.2 21 km N of Pahala, Hawaii · 28 km N 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 19.1437, -155.4892. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hawaii County, HI 51 km (31 mi) N earthquakes near Hawaii County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 4 km SSW of Pāhala, Hawaii
  2. 1.7 4 km SSW of Pāhala, Hawaii
  3. 1.8 16 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
  4. 2.0 3 km SSW of Pāhala, Hawaii
  5. 2.0 2 km SW of Pāhala, Hawaii
  6. 1.8 26 km NNW of Pāhala, Hawaii
  7. 1.8 12 km S of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
  8. 1.7 27 km NNW of Pāhala, Hawaii
  9. 1.8 10 km S of Volcano, Hawaii
  10. 1.6 12 km NE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  11. 1.8 17 km SSW of Volcano, Hawaii
  12. 1.8 13 km E of Pāhala, Hawaii
  13. 1.8 23 km SE of Naalehu, Hawaii
  14. 1.7 10 km S of Volcano, Hawaii
  15. 2.1 40 km ESE of Naalehu, 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.