Series of earthquakes rattle Hawaii amid Mauna Loa volcano unrest

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake was the strongest of a series of temblors that have struck Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano on the planet, which scientists say is in a “state of heightened unrest”.

A series of earthquakes on Friday started with a 4.6 magnitude earthquake 24 seconds before the larger 5.0 earthquake, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a statement issued by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

“The two larger earthquakes were reported by hundreds of people from the Island of Hawai’i and felt to a lesser extent across the entire State of Hawai’i,” the observatory said.

“Shaking from the larger earthquakes may have been strong enough to do minor local damage, especially to older buildings,” it said.

Earthquakes have preceded previous eruptions of Mauna Loa, though they have generally been larger than the quakes experienced on Friday, the observatory said.

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 Magnitude    mb 5.0
Region    ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
Date time    2022-10-14 19:07:28.9 UTC
Location    19.28 N ; 155.56 W
Depth    17 km
Distances    329 km ESE of Honolulu, United States / pop: 371,000 / local time: 09:07:28.9 2022-10-14
12 km NW of Pāhala, United States / pop: 1,300 / local time: 09:07:28.9 2022-10-14