Categorized | Earthquake, News

Light 4.4M quake in Royal Gardens area wakes island residents Saturday (Jan 5)

Magnitude
4.4
Date-Time
Saturday, January 05, 2013 at 14:37:18 UTC
Saturday, January 05, 2013 at 04:37:18 AM at epicenter
Location
19.343°N, 155.069°W
Depth
9.1 km (5.7 miles)
Region
ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
Distances
16 km (10 miles) SSE (156°) from Fern Forest, HI
17 km (11 miles) SSE (167°) from Eden Roc, HI
19 km (12 miles) S (173°) from Fern Acres, HI
28 km (18 miles) SW (216°) from Hawaiian Beaches, HI
40 km (25 miles) S (177°) from Hilo, HI
361 km (224 miles) SE (127°) from Honolulu, HI

TSUNAMI SEISMIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NUMBER   1
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
440 AM HST SAT JAN 05 2013

TO - CIVIL DEFENSE IN THE STATE OF HAWAII

SUBJECT - LOCAL TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT

THIS STATEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NO ACTION REQUIRED.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

   ORIGIN TIME - 0437 AM HST 05 JAN 2013
   COORDINATES - 19.3 NORTH  155.1 WEST
   LOCATION    - ON THE SOUTH FLANK OF KILAUEA VOLCANO
   MAGNITUDE   - 4.4

EVALUATION

 NO TSUNAMI IS EXPECTED. REPEAT. NO TSUNAMI IS EXPECTED.
 HOWEVER...SOME AREAS MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED SHAKING.

THIS WILL BE THE ONLY STATEMENT ISSUED FOR THIS EVENT UNLESS
ADDITIONAL DATA ARE RECEIVED.

 

By Hawaii 24/7 Staff

A light temblor rocked the Big Island Saturday morning (Jan 5) at 4:37 a.m. The quake was centered in the old Royal Gardens subdivision area where the current lava flows off Pu‘u ‘O‘o crater have been flowing.

Twitter was abuzz with people reporting that they felt that temblor. The U.S. Geological Survey’s ‘Did you feel it?‘ website reported the quake being felt island-wide with numerous reports coming in from Hilo, Keaau, Pahoa and some responses from Waimea and Honokaa. So far there have been no reports of damage or injury other than books falling off shelves. Because of unpredictable earthquakes like this people should use caution if out viewing the lava ocean entry. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park warns:

HAZARD ALERT: Lava entering the ocean builds lava deltas. The lava delta and adjacent areas both inland and out to sea are some of the most hazardous areas on the flow field. Frequent delta/bench collapses give little warning, can produce hot rock falls inland and in the adjacent ocean, and can produce large local waves. The steam plume produced by lava entering the ocean contains fine lava fragments and an assortment of acid droplets that can be harmful to your health. The rapidly changing conditions near the ocean entry have been responsible for many injuries and a few deaths.

Video from November 2005 below of what can happen when there is a delta/bench collapse at the ocean entry.

USGS: How large does an earthquake have to be to cause a tsunami?

Magnitudes below 6.5
Earthquakes of this magnitude are very unlikely to trigger a tsunami.

Magnitudes between 6.5 and 7.5
Earthquakes of this size do not usually produce destructive tsunamis. However, small sea level changes may be observed in the vicinity of the epicenter. Tsunamis capable of producing damage or casualties are rare in this magnitude range but have occurred due to secondary effects such as landslides or submarine slumps.

Magnitudes between 7.6 and 7.8
Earthquakes of this size may produce destructive tsunamis especially near the epicenter; at greater distances small sea level changes may be observed. Tsunamis capable of producing damage at great distances are rare in the magnitude range.

Magnitude 7.9 and greater
Destructive local tsunamis are possible near the epicenter, and significant sea level changes and damage may occur in a broader region.

Note that with a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, the probability of an aftershock with a magnitude exceeding 7.5 is not negligible. To date, the largest aftershock recorded has been magnitude 7.1 that did not produce a damaging tsunami.

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