UPDATED (2:54 PM on 5/4/2018)

Hawaii Department of Transportation report

Highway 130 is closed between the Highway 132 intersection and south of Leilani Estates. Motorists should use Route 137 (Kalapana-Kapoho Road) and Route 132 as an alternate route. Hawaii County Police closed the Highway due to an excessive amount of people on the side of the road and the potential exposure to hazardous gas.

No damage has been reported to any of the HDOT Highways Division facilities as a result of the earthquakes or eruptions. HDOT crews are continuing inspections of roadways, bridges, and slopes. We will continue to monitor conditions.

HDOT Airports personnel immediately inspected the runways and taxiways at Hilo International Airport (ITO) following the earthquakes. No damage was found. Additional inspections of buildings, water and gas lines were conducted and no damage was discovered. Flights were temporarily on hold at ITO during the inspections. All airline operations have resumed and all operations are normal.

Please monitor the HDOT accounts on Twitter and Facebook for any additional updates.

UPDATED (2:16 p.m. on 5/4/2018)

Mayor Harry Kim will be holding a community Meeting tonight at 5:30 p.m. at Pahoa High School Cafeteria. Please come and talk story with your County government folks who are monitoring the eruption event.

UPDATED (2:16 p.m. on 5/4/2018)

UH Hilo accouncement:

Due to the seismic activity today, the University of Hawai`i at Hilo will be closing its Hilo campus facilities effective immediately to allow students and employees to attend to personal business and priorities.

Individuals should feel safe to remain on campus in buildings, including students living in residence halls. All structures on campus were designed and built to resist seismic ground motion per County code and State requirements.

Campus will reopen tomorrow, Saturday, May 5, 2018, and continue with normal operations, including the Library and Student Life Center hours, if there is no additional seismic activity.

Hawai‘i Community College announcement:

Hawai’i Community College Manono Campus is closed for the remainder of the business day, so that faculty, staff and students can attend to any needs arising from the Kilauea activity.

Students who have scheduled exams at the Hale Kea Advancement and Testing Center, please contact your instructors to follow up on rescheduling your exams.

Mahalo for your understanding. Please listen to your local news and radio broadcasts for updates.

UPDATED (1:52 PM on 5/4/2018)

Hawaii County Civil Defense 1:40 p.m. audio message

UPDATED (1:24 p.m. on 5/4/2018)

No damage reported to Hawaii State highways facilities following the earthquakes. Crews are continuing to conduct inspections and are monitoring conditions.

Note: Residents should be cautious when opening cupboard, medicine cabinet, closet and other storage area doors as things may have fallen over in the earthquake and are ready to fall out.

UPDATED (1:14 PM on 5/4/2018)

Power outages have been reported on Hawaii Island after the earthquakes. To report a power outage call HELCO at (808) 969-6666.

More information about reporting outages at: http://www.hawaiielectriclight.com/…/Storm…/Report-an-Outage

You can follow HELCO on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HIElectricLight

UPDATED (1:06 p.m. on 5/4/2018)

Hawaii Department of Transportation is surveying Hilo Airport runways following the Kilauea earthquake today. Flights are temporarily on hold during the inspection.

PTWC TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT NUMBER 3
NWS PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER EWA BEACH HI
127 PM HST FRI MAY 04 2018

TO – EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT IN THE STATE OF HAWAII

SUBJECT – LOCAL TSUNAMI INFORMATION STATEMENT

NOTE THAT THE MAGNITUDE HAS INCREASED FROM 6.4 TO 6.9.

THIS STATEMENT IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY. NO ACTION REQUIRED.

THIS EARTHQUAKE GENERATED SMALL SEA LEVEL CHANGES AT SOME LOCATIONS ON THE BIG ISLAND. MEASUREMENTS INCLUDE
HILO 20 CM AMPLITUDE
KAPOHO 40 CM AMPLITUDE
HONUAPO 15 CM AMPLITUDE
AT ALL LOCATIONS THE FLUCTUATIONS ARE NOW DIMINISHING.

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS

ORIGIN TIME – 1233 PM HST 04 MAY 2018
COORDINATES – 19.3 NORTH 155.0 WEST
LOCATION – ON THE SOUTH FLANK OF KILAUEA VOLCANO
MAGNITUDE – 6.9

EVALUATION

NO TSUNAMI IS EXPECTED. REPEAT. NO TSUNAMI IS EXPECTED.

HOWEVER…MANY AREAS MAY HAVE EXPERIENCED STRONG SHAKING.

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

== PRELIMINARY EARTHQUAKE REPORT ==

***This event supersedes event PT18124051,HV70116556.

Region: ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
Geographic coordinates: 19.370N, 155.032W
Magnitude: 6.9
Depth: 5 km
Universal Time (UTC): 4 May 2018 22:32:56

Time near the Epicenter: 4 May 2018 12:32:56
Local standard time in your area: 4 May 2018 12:32:56

Location with respect to nearby cities:
15 km (10 miles) SE (138 degrees) of Fern Forest, HI
16 km (10 miles) SSE (151 degrees) of Eden Roc, HI
16 km (10 miles) SW (226 degrees) of Leilani Estates, HI
38 km (23 miles) S (171 degrees) of Hilo, HI

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.