Hawaii earthquake: 4.2 magnitude tremor is the latest to hit Big Island in the last ten days

An aeriel view of Kailua Kona, Hawaii.
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Rebecca Speare-Cole3 February 2020

An earthquake has rattled Hawaii's Big Island in the third tremor to hit the area in just 10 days.

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake hit Hawaii just 20 miles from Hawaiian Beaches on Sunday evening at around 8.40pm local time, according to the US Geological Survey.

Hundreds of residents across the Big Island reported feeling weak to lighting shaking from the quake.

The earthquake was centred about 12km southeast of Kilauea caldera near the Hōlei Pali area of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park at a depth of 7.7km.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) seismologist Brian Shiro said the earthquake had no apparent effect on the Kilauea or Mauna Loa volcanoes.

"We see no detectable changes in activity at the summits or along the rift zones of Kīlauea or Mauna Loa as a result of this earthquake," he said.

"Aftershocks are possible and could be felt."

In a statement, HVO also added that Kilauea’s south flank has been the site of 20 earthquakes of magnitude-4.0 or larger over the last 20 years.

Most are caused by abrupt motion of the volcano’s south flank.

The earthquake is possibly an aftershock of the 2018 magnitude-6.9 earthquake as the volcano continues to settle, the HVO added.

In the last 10 days, there have been three earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater centred nearby.