On Tuesday Night an M4.8 Earthquake struck near Hilo in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 5th, 2024. Last updated November 20th, 2024.

Under land 48 miles from Hilo in The United States, a M4.8 earthquake occurred in the night of Tuesday November 5th, 2024. Around 360 thousand people have been exposed to shaking.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 48 miles (77 km) southwest of Hilo in Hawaii. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 24 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 5, 2024 01:42AM (Honolulu Time) - Nov 5, 2024 11:42 Universal Time.
Location:	48 mi SW of Hilo, Hawaii, The United States. Coordinates 19°9'36"N 155°30'43"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.8 Detected by 30 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.05 .
Depth:	24 mi (38 km) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake in a coastal area, it appears to have occurred under land (2 mi from the sea) with a magnitude that is usually not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 69% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 98% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 360 thousand people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 360 thousand people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

An estimated 20,090 people were exposed to level IV. At this level, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. Intensity level III was experienced by a large group of people (around 180 thousand). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Hilo in Hawaii, The United States. Hilo is located 48 miles (77 km) southwest of the epicenter. Hilo experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly III. That level implies weak shaking and probably no damage.

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is IV.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

4 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 4 smaller aftershocks were detected. Just 3 days after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-2.9 was detected 28 mi (45 km) south-east of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 18 smaller foreshocks were detected. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 3 days earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.3

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since February 9th, 2024, when a 5.9 magnitude earthquake hit 2.2 mi (4 km) further north-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on May 4th, 2018.

In total, 81 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.8 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 2 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 20/11/24 12:58 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake hv74522742
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241105_0000139
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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