A moderate earthquake off Hawaii island Tuesday did not appear to cause any structural damage or generate a tsunami.
The 5.3-magnitude quake struck at 2:12 p.m. and was centered about 34 miles southeast of Pahala and 31 miles south of Kalapana at a depth of about 25 miles, according to Wes Thelen, seismic network manager of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
"It was a pretty significant jolt," said Hawaii County Civil Defense Director David Oliveira.
The magnitude of the quake was initially estimated at 5.6, then downgraded to 5.3 after scientists spent more time analyzing seismic data.
The USGS received hundreds of contacts from people who reported feeling the shaking, including several from Honolulu, nearly 400 miles from the epicenter.
There were no aftershocks because of the quake’s depth, officials said.
"The earthquake was most likely a structural adjustment of the Earth’s crust due to the weight of Hawaii island on the underlying mantle." Thelen said in a news release.
An earthquake of a similar magnitude occurred in the same general area in 2005.
The islands typically have one to three quakes with a magnitude of about 5.0 a year. Tuesday’s was the first in that range so far this year.
Civil Defense officials did not receive any reports of damage by Tuesday afternoon, but Oliveira said the quake happened when most people were at work, so there may still be late reports.
Kalapana was the closest community to the epicenter.
David Ewing of Kalapana Gardens said his wife, Charlene, felt their two-story wooden home shake during the quake, but it did not cause any damage.
At Hawaiian Paradise Park, Rick Giese said he was sitting at his desk at his two-story wooden home doing bookkeeping for his wholesale floral business when he heard a deep rumbling sound. His home started to shake about a second later. "I did jump up," said Giese.
He headed toward the door to get out of his house when the rattling stopped.
At Naalehu Elementary School, Principal Darlene Javar said the quake lasted for several seconds and shook the school’s wooden buildings.
About 30 teachers, faculty and staff were at the school to prepare for the first day of summer school today. Born and raised on the island, Javar was unfazed by the rattling. "It was a typical earthquake."
