QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.5ml

Earthquake near Pāhala, HI

No earthquake was likely felt in Pāhala in the 24 hours to 1:49 pm HST (23:49 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 3.5 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) south of Pāhala, HI, at 2:20 am HST on 4 September 2026 (12:20 UTC), 12 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 5 km S of Pāhala, Hawaii

2:20 am HST, Sep 4, 2026 · · 12 km deep · released about 3.1 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Pāhala Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hawaii County 49 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
2:20 am HST on 4 September 2026 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) south of Pāhala, HI · earthquakes near Pāhala
Hawaii today
every earthquake in Hawaii in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 3.5 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Hawaii County, 49 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 66 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 64 km (40 mi) from the epicentre. In Pāhala, 5 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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 5 km, intensity III · Discovery Harbor 20 km, intensity III · Hawaiian Ocean View 31 km, intensity II · Volcano 41 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 3.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 55,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.5 about 3.1 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 6.5× more

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 10,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 43 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 22 km W of Volcano, Hawaii · 30 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 Kaoiki area, Hawaii · 32 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 · 33 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 6.2 21 km N of Pahala, Hawaii · 27 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 19.1573, -155.4837. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hawaii County, HI 49 km (30 mi) N earthquakes near Hawaii County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 29 km NNW of Pāhala, Hawaii
  2. 2.1 21 km SE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  3. 1.7 8 km SSW of Pāhala, Hawaii
  4. 2.1 22 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
  5. 2.5 2 km W of Pāhala, Hawaii
  6. 1.8 5 km S of Pāhala, Hawaii
  7. 2.1 19 km SSE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  8. 1.8 16 km NNE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  9. 1.8 10 km NE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  10. 1.9 22 km SSE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  11. 1.6 16 km NNE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  12. 1.7 5 km SW of Volcano, Hawaii
  13. 1.9 29 km NNW of Pāhala, Hawaii
  14. 1.9 6 km SSW of Volcano, Hawaii
  15. 1.5 3 km SW of Volcano, 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.