Magnitude 5.7 earthquake hits Hawaii’s Big Island

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck the world’s largest active volcano Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Hawaii on Friday, reports CBS news.

The earthquake was centered on Mauna Loa’s southern flank at a depth of 23 miles, 1.3 miles southwest of Pahala, around 12:06 pm, reports the US Geological Survey (USGS).

The tremor didn’t cause a tsunami, said USGS, adding that initially reported as magnitude 6.3.

The quake knocked items off shelves and cut power in a nearby town. However, there were no immediate reports of serious damage.

According to Darren Pai, a spokeswoman for Hawaiian Electric Company, a power outage impacting approximately 300 customers in Naalehu appeared to be caused by the earthquake.

The earthquake struck after 10:00am (local time), less than two hours before an unrelated quake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.6 shook Southern California.

Tremors can happen in Hawaii for a variety of reasons, including magma moving under the surface.

No tsunami is expected, the Office of the Governor of Hawaii posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

According to the USGS Interactive Map, some shaking was felt in Kailua-Kona, about 71 miles from Pahala.

According to the USGS, the earthquake was felt more than 280 miles away, including on Maui and in parts of Oahu in the first hour.

As a result of the intensity of the earthquake, no damage was expected to buildings.

The USGS said in a statement that this earthquake is likely associated with lithospheric flexure caused by the weight of the Hawaiian Islands on the oceanic lithosphere.