Volcano Minute — Magnitude-4.8 deep beneath Pāhala on November 5, 2024

It’s Volcano Minute, brought to you by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. 

More a thousand people across the Hawaiian island chain reported feeling an earthquake at 1:42 am on Tuesday November 5. The magnitude 4.8 occurred deep beneath the town of Pāhala on the south side of the Island of Hawaiʻi. At a depth of 23 miles beneath the ocean surface, it was part of an ongoing swarm of earthquakes that have been occurring in this area since 2019. Scientists think it’s where magma is supplied from the hot spot to our active volcanoes. You can report felt earthquakes using the USGS “Did You Feel It?” website. 

Between November first and second, more than 100 earthquakes were also detected at Kamaʻehuakanaloa volcano (formerly known as  Lōʻihi Seamount). This activity was unlikely to be related to an eruption, but it could have been caused by magma movement.  

No other changes were reported at Hawaii’s active volcanoes this past week. 

Mahalo for listening, I’m Katie Mulliken and this was your weekly volcano minute brought to you by the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.