QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Pāhala, HI

No earthquake was likely felt in Pāhala in the 24 hours to 1:48 pm HST (23:48 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) east of Pāhala, HI, at 9:43 pm HST on 15 September 2026 (07:43 UTC), 29 km deep.

USGS: 13 km E of Pāhala, Hawaii

60 km (37 mi) SSW of Hilo, HI

9:43 pm HST, Sep 15, 2026 · · 29 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pāhala Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hawaii County 45 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
9:43 pm HST on 15 September 2026 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) east of Pāhala, HI · earthquakes near Pāhala
Hawaii today
every earthquake in Hawaii in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
29 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hawaii County, 45 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Hilina fault system, 2 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 58 days ago

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 Pāhala, 13 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: Volcano.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 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 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 45,000,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 47 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.7 17 km SSW of Leilani Estates, Hawaii · 39 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.7 Island of Hawai`i, Hawaii · 38 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 6.7 22 km W of Volcano, Hawaii · 25 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.4 Kaoiki area, Hawaii · 24 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.2 Kilauea South Flank, Hawaii · 38 km ENE 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 19.2170, -155.3550. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hawaii County, HI 45 km (28 mi) NNW 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. 2.6 1 km WSW of Pāhala, Hawaii
  2. 1.8 23 km ESE of Naalehu, Hawaii
  3. 1.7 21 km N of Pāhala, Hawaii
  4. 1.7 6 km SW of Volcano, Hawaii
  5. 1.9 21 km W of Volcano, Hawaii
  6. 1.8 14 km ESE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  7. 1.9 14 km NE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  8. 2.0 26 km W of Volcano, Hawaii
  9. 1.8 0 km WNW of Eden Roc, Hawaii
  10. 2.0 14 km NNE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  11. 1.6 22 km SSE of Volcano, Hawaii
  12. 2.2 14 km NNE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  13. 1.6 12 km NE of Pāhala, Hawaii
  14. 1.7 8 km ENE of Naalehu, Hawaii
  15. 1.8 1 km ESE 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.