USGS HVO Press Release — Magnitude-4.6 Earthquake Occurs on Kīlauea Volcano's South Flank
An earthquake of magnitude-4.6 (preliminary) was recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on February 16, at 3:22 P.M. HST.
The earthquake was centered about 10 km (6 miles) northwest of Ka‘ena Point and 11 km (7 miles) southeast of Kīlauea summit at a depth of 10 km (6 miles). By the time of this release there have been reports that this event was felt islandwide.
The magnitude-4.6 earthquake was the eleventh of magnitude-4.0 or greater to occur in the Poliokeawe region since the start of the current eruption on January 3, 1983 and was the largest since the magnitude-5.0 earthquake on December 28, 2003. These persistent earthquakes are possibly a reaction to the continuing expansion of the Kīlauea's east rift zone.
Daily updates about ongoing eruptions, recent images and videos of summit and East Rift Zone volcanic activity, maps, and data about recent earthquakes in Hawaii are posted on the HVO website at https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/hvo.
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