M4.4 Earthquake struck on Friday Afternoon in the North Pacific Ocean 91mi from Hilo (The United States).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on March 15th, 2025.

A M4.4 earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean 91 miles from Hilo, The United States in the late afternoon of Friday March 14th, 2025. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 250 thousand people.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, 27 miles (44 km) off the coast of The United States, 91 miles west-southwest of Hilo in Hawaii. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 22 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Mar 14, 2025 05:25PM (Honolulu Time) - Mar 15, 2025 03:25 Universal Time.
Location:	91 mi WSW of Hilo, Hawaii, The United States. Coordinates 19°4'41"N 156°17'41"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.4 Detected by 30 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.038 .
Depth:	22 mi (36 km) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually 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 250 thousand people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 250 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 470 people were exposed to level IV. At this level, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. Intensity level II was experienced by the majority of people (around 170 thousand). In their region, very weak shaking and no damage can be expected.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
4,820	I	Not noticable	None
168,500	II	Very weak	None
80,690	III	Weak	Probably none
470	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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Hilo in Hawaii, The United States. Hilo is located 91 miles (146 km) west-southwest of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Hilo is estimated to be around level II on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (very weak shaking, no damage).

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake. Where available, the estimated intensity on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale in each place is included. Places where this information is omitted likely experienced little impact.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
91 mi (146 km) ENE from epicenter	Hilo Hawaii, The United States.	II Weak
117 mi (188 km) N from epicenter	Kīhei Hawaii, The United States.	II Weak
126 mi (202 km) N from epicenter	Kahului Hawaii, The United States.
126 mi (203 km) N from epicenter	Wailuku Hawaii, The United States.
178 mi (287 km) NNW from epicenter	East Honolulu Hawaii, The United States.
185 mi (297 km) NW from epicenter	Honolulu Hawaii, The United States.
186 mi (299 km) NNW from epicenter	Kailua Hawaii, The United States.

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.

2 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 2 smaller aftershocks. Just 1 hr after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-2.5 was detected 61 mi (98 km) east of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 3 smaller foreshocks. Roughly 3 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-3.7 was detected nearby this earthquake.

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 3.7	3 days earlier Mar 11, 2025 11:33PM (Honolulu Time)	61 mi (98 km) E from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 3.0	3 days earlier Mar 12, 2025 05:19AM (Honolulu Time)	52 mi (84 km) E from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 3.4	23 hrs earlier Mar 13, 2025 06:29PM (Honolulu Time)	61 mi (99 km) E from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 4.4	Mar 14, 2025 05:25PM (Honolulu Time)	-
Aftershock	M 2.5	59 mins later Mar 14, 2025 06:24PM (Honolulu Time)	60 mi (96 km) ENE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.5	1 hr later Mar 14, 2025 06:38PM (Honolulu Time)	61 mi (98 km) E from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

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 51 mi (83 km) further east. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on May 4th, 2018.

In total, 121 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.4 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 30 days.

Low tsunami risk

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.

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so 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 under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4.4. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 22 mi (36 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 15/03/25 08:28 (). 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.