Volcano Watch — First “official” Great Hawaii ShakeOut is a success

If you—as an individual, family, business, school, or other group—took action to prepare for Hawai‘ii’s next large earthquake, please tell us about it at “Share your ShakeOut”. You can write about your experience, post photos, or both.

Hawai‘i is subject to many kinds of natural hazards, with earthquakes being among them. Large earthquakes typically occur on and around the island of Hawai‘i, but historically, they have also occurred around Maui, Moloka‘i, and Lāna‘i, with damage extending as far as O‘ahu. The probability of a destructive magnitude-6.5 or higher earthquake striking the Hawaiian Islands in the next 10 years is 50 percent.

Originating in 2008, the first drill was known as the “Great Southern California ShakeOut.” The main goal of the drill then, as it is now, was to practice the “Drop! Cover! Hold On!”. The drill has since expanded in size, with participants across the globe.

Benefits of taking part in the Great Hawaii ShakeOut include becoming more aware of the earthquake hazards along the Hawaiian chain and having an opportunity to think about and practice what you will do during the next large earthquake.

The 15,000 registered participants in the first annual Great Hawaii ShakeOut were from Hawai‘i, Maui and Honolulu counties and included a number of schools. Waimea Middle School, the only organization in Hawai‘i to participate in the national earthquake drill last year, participated again this year to keep their skills and safety protocols honed. Students at Holualoa Elementary School in West Hawai‘i—first-time ShakeOut participants--created a catchy rap to help fellow classmates learn what to do in an earthquake. As a result, when their earthquake drill took place, everyone was prepared, and it was a rousing success.

If you missed the October 17th earthquake drill, you can still take steps to minimize your risk of injury during the next Hawaiian earthquake. Go to the Great Hawaii ShakeOut website for helpful information, such as “Recommended Earthquake Safety Actions in Hawaii”.

Given that this year was our first “official” Great Hawaii ShakeOut, participation in the earthquake awareness and preparedness drill far exceeded our expectations and underscores the desire of Hawai‘i residents to be prepared for natural disasters. We hope in future years to build on this success by educating and informing even more people on the hazards that earthquakes pose to the Hawaiian Islands.

Information on the Great Hawaii ShakeOut website, as well as the organization of the event, was accomplished by a consortium, including the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Hawaii County and State Civil Defense agencies, the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo (Department of Geology and the Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes), NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and the American Red Cross.

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Volcano Activity Update

A lava lake within the Halema‘uma‘u Overlook vent produced nighttime glow that was visible via HVO’s Webcam during the past week. A deflation-inflation cycle (DI event) occurred last weekend, and the lava lake level fell and then rose again, correspondingly. No subsequent DI events had occurred as of this writing (Thursday, October 24).

On Kīlauea’s East Rift Zone, a breakout from the Peace Day tube above the pali was still barely active on Monday, October 21, based on field observations. The Kahauale‘a 2 flow, fed from a spatter cone on the northeast edge of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater, continues to slowly advance across old flows and into the forest. Its tip was 5.8 km (3.6 miles) northeast of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō on October 21.

One earthquake was reported felt on the Island of Hawai‘i during the past week. On Sunday, October 20, at 11:44 a.m., HST, a magnitude-3.7 earthquake occurred 13 km (8 mi) north of Nā‘ālehu at a depth of 10 km (6 mi).