Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.0ml
Earthquake near Waimea, HI
No earthquake was likely felt in Waimea in the 24 hours to 10:12 pm HST (08:12 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 15 km (9 mi) W, at 2:41 am HST on 10 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Waimea
This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) north of Waimea, HI, at 5:25 am HST on 16 August 2026 (15:25 UTC), 41 km deep.
USGS: 11 km E of Hala‘ula, Hawaii
- When
- 5:25 am HST on 16 August 2026 ()
- Where
- 26 km (16 mi) north of Waimea, HI · earthquakes near Waimea
- Hawaii today
- every earthquake in Hawaii in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 3.0 (ml)
- Depth
- 41 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Hawaii County, 75 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 78 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Waimea, HI
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Waimea, HI. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 Waimea, 26 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: Kapaau, Hāwī, Honoka‘a.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 320,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 14,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 10,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,100 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 5.2 on 2021-07-05 — about 1,600 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.7 14 km SW of Puako, Hawaii · 50 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 41 km NE of Hala‘ula, Hawaii · 33 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.0 20 km SW of Hawi, Hawaii · 35 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.1 24 km WNW of H?w?, Hawaii · 40 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.0 North of Kohala, Hawaii · 33 km NNE 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 20.2527, -155.6750. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii County, HI | 75 km (47 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Hawaii County |
| Maui County, HI | 117 km (73 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Maui County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
38 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 7 km NNE of Puako, Hawaii
- 2.0 15 km SSW of Honoka‘a, Hawaii
- 1.9 18 km SE of Waikoloa, Hawaii
- 1.7 7 km E of Waikoloa, Hawaii
- 2.2 13 km SSW of Waikoloa, Hawaii
- 2.0 0 km ENE of Honoka‘a, Hawaii
- 2.2 7 km WNW of Laupāhoehoe, Hawaii
- 1.9 11 km SSW of Hāwī, Hawaii
- 1.9 10 km S of Kapaau, Hawaii
- 2.5 8 km SSE of Waikoloa, Hawaii
- 3.1 10 km SSW of Pa‘auilo, Hawaii
- 2.5 10 km SSW of Pa‘auilo, Hawaii
- 2.8 10 km SSW of Pa‘auilo, Hawaii
- 2.3 10 km SSW of Pa‘auilo, Hawaii
- 2.4 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
- 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.