Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Cluster of earthquakes shake Big Island, no tsunami threat

Reported by: Justin Cruz
Email: jcruz@khon2.com

Updated: 10/19 5:57 pm




A cluster of minor earthquakes struck off Hawaii Island Wednesday.
The largest came in at a magnitude 4.5 at around 2:10 p.m.

Officials say we could experience more tremblers in the coming days.

The 4.5 magnitude quake was located about 6 miles to the northwest of Mauna Kea Summit at a depth of about 12 miles deep.

Notice that is quake is father away from the usual earthquake activity near Volcanoes National Park.

According to the Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory, deep earthquakes in this region are most likely caused by structural adjustments within the Earth’s crust due to the heavy load of Mauna Kea.

Adjustments beneath Mauna Kea during past similar events, such as in March 2010, have produced a flurry of earthquakes, with many small aftershocks occurring for days after the main quake.

It is possible that additional small earthquakes may be recorded in the coming days.

Since the 4.5 quake, there have been a total of 22 aftershocks with two of them being greater than 3.0.

There are no immediate reports of significant damage.



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