A magnitude-4.2 earthquake rumbled just offshore of the Big Island of Hawaii on Tuesday morning, but officials said no tsunamis were expected.
The earthquake was about 5 miles southeast of the community of Pāhala, just off the southern shore of the Big Island, at 9:37 a.m. local time (3:37 p.m. ET), according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The office of Gov. Josh Green said on X, “A local earthquake has occurred — 4.0 magnitude off the Ka‘u coast of the Big Island. Shaking may have been felt in some areas, but No Tsunami was generated.”
The USGS said the quake was unlikely to produce damage.
“No damage to buildings or infrastructure expected based on earthquake intensity,” it said.
It received about 40 reports from those who said they felt the earthquake.
The U.S. Geological Survey measured it at magnitude 4.2. It said the depth was roughly 20 miles below the ocean’s surface.
The earthquake shook amid a series of small quakes in the region in the last few days that ranged in magnitude from 1.5 to 2.3. Kīlauea volcano on the Big Island remained active last week, with the USGS logging several events as the Halema’uma’u crater erupted, spewed lava and vented steam.
“The earthquake had no apparent impact on either Mauna Loa or Kīlauea volcanoes,” the USGS said.
The area has been the location of multiple small earthquakes, what the USGS describes as a “seismic swarm,” since 2019.
“Earthquakes in this region have been observed at least as far back as the 1960s,” it said.
