Earthquake

"F" just happened to email me about earthquake risk. He wanted to know how often earthquakes occur in the Ka'u area and were they damaging. Well, just the other night, since you happen to ask, we experienced an earthquake. Yup. Good timing, "F". 

This earthquake was posted as a 5.5 and located 12 km SSE of Volcano. That means that it was quite a distance from me. But even so, it woke us up about 1 am with the house shaking, roof complaining, doors rattling. Only lasted 5 -10 seconds, but once we were awake.....that's it for sleeping for awhile. No damage around the house that we could see. This wasn't a quake to be concerned about. Not even a glass sitting beside the kitchen sink had moved. 

Many years ago we had a quake that cracked one of our house foundation slabs. I guess some of the gravel supporting the long narrow concrete slab settled, thus cracking the slab. Those long narrow foundations are required by the building code for pier & post foundations. We didn't see damage on the traditional piers, but the long slab was a different story. 

Since we bought land here in the early 2000's, there hasn't been a major earthquake in Ka'u. But it will be coming. Eventually Mauna Loa will again erupt, bringing earthquakes. Historically Ka'u gets a big one when the volcano erupts on our side of the rift system. Perhaps it will happen in my lifetime, perhaps not. I'll just have to take it as it comes and be prepared. 

Hawaii Earthquake Information

This is what we check on the internet when we have an earthquake here. The website gives us all sorts of earthquake information.

The big red square is the earthquake that we just had. It was located pretty far away. According to the volcano information site, the quake was most likely associated with the natural readjustment of the earth's mantle due to the weight of Hawaii Island on it.

Here's some more info from the website:

Sorry the pics are so blurry. I took them from a screen capture, rather than a photo, so they aren't so good. But it gives you an idea.

Earthquake 5.6

Just had a bit of an earthquake. It's been quite a while since we've had an earthquake around here that we could feel in Naalehu. I was down at the post office in town when the floor gave a couple of jiggles, then thump! The building did a counterclockwise hula to a low, slow rumble-rumble-rumble. It was a significant earthquake, but not a biggie. It wasn't until I got home right now that I found out it occurred about 25 miles away under the ocean. A 5.6.  If it had been closer, it would have  been more attention getting.

Earthquakes use to happen in the area fairly frequently when we moved here. Small ones that you could hear coming down the mountain, give your house a rattle, then continue on down the hill. But for the past few years things have been pretty quiet around here. Pahala has been having small ones off and on, but not much on this side of the mountain/volcano. I've actually missed having them, and many people has said the same thing. We were so use to the frequent small shakers.

This earthquake was most likely associated with Lo'ihi, the newest volcano off the coast. Thus it doesn't mean something it going on with Mauna Loa, the volcano I live on. Eventually Mauna Loa will stir to life, but not this time.

Thursday when I get to my desk top computer again, I'll post the earthquake data for you to see. This is what we locals check on a regular basis to keep up to date on the earthquakes,