Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Fern Forest, HI
Yes. A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) SSE of Fern Forest, HI, at 3:09 pm HST on 12 October 2026 (01:09 UTC), 6.1 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 12 km SSE of Fern Forest, Hawaii
36 km (23 mi) S of Hilo, HI
- When
- 3:09 pm HST on 12 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) SSE of Fern Forest, HI · earthquakes near Fern Forest
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 6 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Hawaii County, 51 km WNW
- 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 2 hours 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 42 km (26 mi) from the epicentre. In Fern Forest, 13 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Eden Roc, Fern Acres, Volcano, Hawaiian Acres, Ainaloa, Leilani Estates.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,500 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 230,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 10,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,200× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,500 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.6× 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 6.9 on 2018-05-04 — about 450,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 40 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.7 17 km SSW of Leilani Estates, Hawaii · 9 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.7 Island of Hawai`i, Hawaii · 6 km E of this epicentre
- 6.7 22 km W of Volcano, Hawaii · 39 km W of this epicentre
- 6.4 Kaoiki area, Hawaii · 34 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.2 Kilauea South Flank, Hawaii · 6 km E 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 19.3612, -155.0803. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii County, HI | 51 km (32 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Hawaii County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.
Revisions
USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.
| What changed | From | To | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| measured intensity | not reported | 3.55 | |
| reported intensity | 3 | 2.7 | |
| felt reports | 5 | 6 | |
| review status | automatic | reviewed | |
| longitude | -155.08 | -155.08 | |
| latitude | 19.36 | 19.36 | |
| depth | 5.63 | 6.06 | |
| magnitude | 3.27 | 3.13 | |
| reported intensity | 3.1 | 3 | |
| felt reports | 3 | 5 | |
| reported intensity | not reported | 3.1 | |
| felt reports | not reported | 3 |
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.