4.4 Quake Rattles Kilauea, Jan. 5, 2013

Jan. 5, 2013 earthquake map courtesy Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

By Wendy Osher

There was no tsunami threat to Hawai`i following a 4.4 preliminary magnitude earthquake reported at 4/37 a.m. on Saturday, January 5, 2013.

A light quake occurred 4 miles SE of the Pu`u `O`o Crater along the south flank of the Kīlauea Volcano, at a depth of 6 miles.

The earthquake was located 4 miles SE of the Hawaii Pu`u `O`o Crater; 6 miles NE of Ka`ena Point; 6 miles W of Kalapana; and 27 miles S of Hilo.

The USGS received 160 felt reports within the first hour of the earthquake from individuals who reported feeling the quake.

There were no aftershocks reported.

Officials with the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory say the Pūlama Pali of Kīlauea’s south flank has been the site of 23 earthquakes of magnitude-4.0 or greater during the past 50 years, with 8 since 1983.

Most, authorities say, are caused by abrupt motion of the volcano’s south flank moving southeast over the ocean crust at an average rate of 6.5 centimeters per year (2.6 inches per year) as a result of magma injected into the rift zone.

According to the USGS, the earthquake did not have any apparent effect on Kīlauea’s ongoing eruption. HVO monitoring networks have not detected any significant changes in activity at the summits or rift zones of any other Hawaiian volcanoes.