Early morning earthquake on on Hawaiʻi Island attributed to seismic swarm under the Pāhala area

A magnitude-4.6 earthquake was reported early Wednesday morning, 11 miles southeast of Pāhala on Hawaiʻi Island. The quake occurred at 2:14 a.m. on June 17, at a depth of 21 miles below sea level. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports the earthquake had no apparent impact on either Maunaloa or Kīlauea volcanoes. 

“This earthquake is part of the seismic swarm under the Pāhala area, which has been going on since 2019,” according to the HVO. “Earthquakes in this region have been observed at least as far back as the 1960s.”

There were more than 169 felt reports recorded by the USGS within the first hour of the quake. Aftershocks are possible in the coming days to weeks, according to the HVO.