MEDIA RELEASE

Epicenter of a 5.0 magnitude earthquake which struck at 10:31 a.m. HST Thursday, May 3, 2018. Map via USGS.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) recorded a magnitude-5.0 earthquake on Thursday, May 3, 2018, at approximately 10:31 a.m. HST.

The earthquake was located about 7 km (4.3 mi) southeast of Volcano, on the Island of HawaiÊ»i, at a depth of 6.9 km (4.3 mi). A map showing the location of the earthquake is posted on HVO’s website at https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo/hvo_earthquakes.html.

The USGS “Did you feel it?” website (https://earthquake.usgs.gov/dyfi/) received over 500 felt reports from around the Island of Hawai‘i within an hour after the quake. The maximum intensity of shaking was recorded as VI on the Mercalli Intensity Scale, indicating strong shaking at the earthquake’s epicenter. For more information see the USGS ShakeMap at https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/hv70112126#shakemap.

Seismic waveform of the 10:31 a.m. HST May 3, 2018 temblor.

“It appears that ground shaking from the earthquake caused rockfalls in the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater on KÄ«lauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone, which resulted in a short-lived plume of reddish ash rising above the cone,” said Tina Neal, HVO Scientist-in-Charge. No other changes at KÄ«lauea have been observed, but HVO scientists are closely monitoring the data.

According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) no tsunami was generated by the earthquake.

For more information on recent earthquakes in Hawai‘i and eruption updates, visit the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory website at https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo/.