A 5.6 magnitude earthquake in Hawaii has struck off the southeast coast of Hawaii reports the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake which occurred Tuesday afternoon was centered about 34 miles southeast of Pahala on the Big Island. The depth of the earthquake was about 25 miles and officials say that it is not expected to cause a tsunami. Pahala is a small area in Hawaii with only over about 1,000 people. It was originally created by a sugarcane plantation.
There have been no immediate reports of damage, according to The Weather Channel. Reportedly people as far away as Oahu and Maui felt shaking.The Oahu Department of Emergency Management reported that some areas may have experienced strong shaking.
The Associated Press reported that the executive assistant to the mayor, Kevin Dayton felt shaking in the county building based in Hilo, Hawaii.
Darryl Oliveira, director of the Hawaii County Civil Defense, said to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the agency sent out a mass text notification of the quake as well as through radio broadcasts and email.
"It was a pretty significant jolt," Oliveira said to the newspaper.
USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Seismic Network Manager, Wes Thele said to KHON2.com, "The earth is very sound down there there's not a lot of cracks, therefore waves travel very efficiently through the material."
Scientists say that there's only been one other earthquake coming from the area that was bigger than a five point magnitude quake in the last 20 years.
"For one like this that not only shook most of the island but farther than that I can't remember the last time that's rocked like that," ESPN radio DJ/resident, Josh Pacheco said to khon2.com.
"A stock clerk at the Mizuno Superette grocery store in Pahala says the shelves rocked but nothing fell," reported The AP.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
