The 4.1-magnitude earthquake located east of Pāhala on Aug. 18 had no observable impact on Mauna Loa and Kīlauea volcanoes, as confirmed by U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) Scientist-in-Charge Ken Hon.
The earthquake, which was centered about 5 miles east of Pāhala, had a depth of 20 miles.
“This earthquake is part of the ongoing seismic swarm under the Pāhala area, which started in August 2019,” Hon said, according to the USGS website. “Please be aware that aftershocks are possible and may be felt. HVO continues to monitor Hawaiian volcanoes for any changes. The alert levels/color codes remain at ADVISORY/YELLOW for Kīlauea and Mauna Loa at this time.”
No significant damage to infrastructure is expected from the weak to light shaking that was felt from the earthquake and has been reported across parts of the Island of Hawaii.
It had a maximum Intensity of III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale, and the USGS "Did you feel it?" service received over 25 reports within the first half-hour of the event, USGS reported.
Earthquakes in this region have been observed at least as far back as the 1960s and are considered to be related to deep magma pathways under the island.