M4.3 Earthquake hit near Hilo in The United States on Sunday Evening.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 30th, 2024. Last updated January 2nd, 2025.

A Magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck under land 45 miles from Hilo in The United States in the evening of Sunday December 29th, 2024. Around 240 thousand people have been exposed to shaking.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 45 miles (73 km) southwest of Hilo in Hawaii. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 19 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 29, 2024 11:04PM (Honolulu Time) - Dec 30, 2024 09:04 Universal Time.
Location:	45 mi SW of Hilo, Hawaii, The United States. Coordinates 19°11'43"N 155°29'42"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.3 Detected by 32 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.048 .
Depth:	19 mi (31 km) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light 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 (4 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 240 thousand people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 240 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.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 1,330 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 180 thousand). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
114,400	I	Not noticable	None
62,950	II	Very weak	None
179,200	III	Weak	Probably none
1,330	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . Hilo in Hawaii, The United States is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 45 miles (73 km) southwest of Hilo. The intensity of shaking and damage in Hilo is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
45 mi (73 km) NE from epicenter	Hilo Hawaii, The United States.	III Weak
125 mi (201 km) NNW from epicenter	Kīhei Hawaii, The United States.	II Weak
133 mi (214 km) NNW from epicenter	Kahului Hawaii, The United States.	II Weak
134 mi (216 km) NNW from epicenter	Wailuku Hawaii, The United States.	I Not felt

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured 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

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

9 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 9 smaller aftershocks occurred. Just 14 mins after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.7 was detected 0.8 mi (1.3 km) south of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 2 smaller foreshocks occurred. A 2.9 magnitude earthquake hit 3 days earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Foreshock	M 2.9	3 days earlier Dec 27, 2024 06:25AM (Honolulu Time)	1.8 mi (2.9 km) NNE from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.8	9 hrs earlier Dec 29, 2024 01:42PM (Honolulu Time)	52 mi (83 km) NNE from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 4.3	Dec 29, 2024 11:04PM (Honolulu Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.7	14 mins later Dec 29, 2024 11:19PM (Honolulu Time)	0.8 mi (1.3 km) S from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.5	22 mins later Dec 29, 2024 11:27PM (Honolulu Time)	0.2 mi (0.3 km) ENE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.7	31 mins later Dec 29, 2024 11:35PM (Honolulu Time)	0.6 mi (0.9 km) W from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.6	2 hrs later Dec 30, 2024 01:06AM (Honolulu Time)	0.1 mi (0.2 km) S from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.5	1 day later Dec 31, 2024 12:27AM (Honolulu Time)	8 mi (13 km) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.5	1 day later Dec 31, 2024 02:19AM (Honolulu Time)	22 mi (35 km) ENE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.7	1 day later Dec 31, 2024 05:40AM (Honolulu Time)	0.6 mi (0.9 km) SSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.1	2 days later Jan 1, 2025 10:51AM (Honolulu Time)	8 mi (12 km) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.6	3 days later Jan 1, 2025 12:43PM (Honolulu Time)	18 mi (29 km) S from Main Shock.

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.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

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 November 5th, 2024, when a 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit 2.7 mi (4 km) further south-southwest. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on May 4th, 2018.

In total, 135 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.3 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 27 days.

Tsunami very unlikely

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

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

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck on land near a coastal area (4 mi from the sea).	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4.3. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 19 mi (31 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 02/01/25 08:08 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.