Categorized | Earthquake, News

Weak quake strikes off-shore Kona early Thursday morning (April 16)

20150416-quake-kona

Magnitude
3.8

Time
2015-04-16 10:49:47 (UTC)
2015-04-16 00:49:47 HST

Nearby Cities
82km (51mi) WSW of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
161km (100mi) S of Kihei, Hawaii
170km (106mi) S of Lahaina, Hawaii
172km (107mi) S of Wailuku, Hawaii
248km (154mi) SSE of Honolulu, Hawaii

A weak earthquake struck at 12:49 a.m. early Thursday morning (April 16) about 51 miles west-southwest of Kailua-Kona.

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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