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Weak 3.8M quake in Kona shakes Big Island Saturday night (Dec 7)


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USGS seismic recorder located in Ka‘u District recorded the 10:27 p.m. HST event Saturday (Dec 7).

USGS seismic recorder located in Ka‘u District recorded the 10:27 p.m. HST event Saturday (Dec 7).

By Hawaii 24/7 Staff UPDATED (12/8/2013 at 8:36 AM)

USGS Seismograph reading taken from Hawaiian Ocean View Estates.

USGS Seismograph reading taken from Hawaiian Ocean View Estates.

Event Time
2013-12-08 08:27:17 UTC
2013-12-07 22:27:17 UTC-10:00 at epicenter
2013-12-07 22:27:17 UTC-10:00 system time

Location
19.593°N 155.864°W depth=14.9km (9.3mi)

Nearby Cities
8km (5mi) NE of Honalo, Hawaii
14km (9mi) ESE of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
82km (51mi) W of Hilo, Hawaii
93km (58mi) W of Hawaiian Paradise Park, Hawaii
281km (175mi) SE of Honolulu, Hawaii

An earthquake was felt around the Big Island at about 10:27 p.m. Saturday (Dec 7). The temblor was felt in the Volcano area, Ka‘u, Kona and Waimea. Data from the U.S. Geological Survey reported a 3.8 magnitude quake centered five miles Northeast of the town of Honalo in Kona. No reports of damage have been noted by readers of Hawaii 24/7.

USGS: How large does an earthquake have to be to cause a tsunami?

Magnitudes below 6.5
Earthquakes of this magnitude are very unlikely to trigger a tsunami.

Magnitudes between 6.5 and 7.5
Earthquakes of this size do not usually produce destructive tsunamis. However, small sea level changes may be observed in the vicinity of the epicenter. Tsunamis capable of producing damage or casualties are rare in this magnitude range but have occurred due to secondary effects such as landslides or submarine slumps.

Magnitudes between 7.6 and 7.8
Earthquakes of this size may produce destructive tsunamis especially near the epicenter; at greater distances small sea level changes may be observed. Tsunamis capable of producing damage at great distances are rare in the magnitude range.

Magnitude 7.9 and greater
Destructive local tsunamis are possible near the epicenter, and significant sea level changes and damage may occur in a broader region.

Note that with a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the probability of an aftershock with a magnitude exceeding 7.5 is not negligible. To date, the largest aftershock recorded has been magnitude 7.1 that did not produce a damaging tsunami.

3 Responses to “Weak 3.8M quake in Kona shakes Big Island Saturday night (Dec 7)”

  1. That makes way more sense then the original reports.

  2. Kirk Shorte says:

    Any thoughts on the swam of quakes that have been popping off in Volcano over the past 2-3 days?

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