More than 50 earthquakes rattle Hawaii volcano in past 24 hours, geologists say
A swarm of at least 50 small-magnitude earthquakeshas rattled the Mauna Loa volcano on the Big Island in Hawaii over the past 24 hours, the U.S. Geological Survey reported Tuesday, Nov. 15.
All of the quakes were below 3.0 magnitude, geologists said.
Mauna Loa is the world’s biggest active volcano. It is not erupting and there are “no signs of an imminent eruption,” according to geologists.
However, the area is in a state of “heightened unrest” due to the increased earthquake activity and “inflation of the summit,” USGS said. The activity is likely being driven by new magma entering between 2 and 5 miles below the volcano’s summit.
Officials detected the earthquakes 2 to 3 miles below Mokuʻāweoweo caldera and 4 to 5 miles “beneath the upper-elevation northwest flank of Mauna Loa.” Both regions “have historically been seismically active during periods of unrest on Mauna Loa.”
The volcano has been more active since mid-September, geologists said, though its surface has not shown deformation over the past week.
Magnitude measures the energy released at the source of the earthquake, the U.S. Geological Survey says. It replaces the old Richter scale.
Quakes between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude are often felt but rarely cause much damage, according to Michigan Tech. Quakes below 2.5 magnitude are seldom felt by most people.
This story was originally published November 15, 2022 at 6:43 PM with the headline "More than 50 earthquakes rattle Hawaii volcano in past 24 hours, geologists say."
