Shallow M6.0 Earthquake hit near Hilo in The United States on Friday Evening.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on May 23rd, 2026.

Under land 56 miles from Hilo in The United States, a shallow and strong M6.0 earthquake occurred in the evening of Friday May 22nd, 2026. Earthquakes like this can cause significant economic damage but are usually unlikely to result on large numbers of fatalities.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 56 miles (90 km) southwest of Hilo in Hawaii. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 14 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	May 22, 2026 09:46PM (Honolulu Time) - May 23, 2026 07:46 Universal Time.
Location:	56 mi SW of Hilo, Hawaii, The United States. Coordinates 19°20'25"N 155°50'33"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 6.0 Detected by 26 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.055 .
Depth:	14 mi (23 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VIII Severe On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Significant economic impact

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 95% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 34% likelyhood of between 1 and 10 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 98% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 1,000 million USD.

Roughly 380 thousand people exposed to shaking

An estimated 380 thousand have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

An estimated 7,120 people were exposed to level VII. At this level, very strong shaking and likely moderate damage can be expected. The majority of people (roughly 230 thousand) live in an area exposed to level IV, where light shaking and likely no damage is expected.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
0	II	Very weak	None
72,630	III	Weak	Probably none
229,900	IV	Light	Likely none
50,230	V	Moderate	Very light
18,990	VI	Strong	Light
7,120	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 56 miles (90 km) southwest of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Hilo is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely 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)
56 mi (90 km) NE from epicenter	Hilo Hawaii, The United States.	IV Light
106 mi (170 km) N from epicenter	Kīhei Hawaii, The United States.	IV Light
114 mi (184 km) N from epicenter	Kahului Hawaii, The United States.	IV Light
116 mi (186 km) N from epicenter	Wailuku Hawaii, The United States.	IV Light
181 mi (292 km) NW from epicenter	East Honolulu Hawaii, The United States.
188 mi (303 km) NW from epicenter	Kailua Hawaii, The United States.
188 mi (303 km) NW from epicenter	Honolulu Hawaii, The United States.
191 mi (307 km) NW from epicenter	Kaneohe Hawaii, The United States.
198 mi (319 km) NW from epicenter	‘Ewa Gentry Hawaii, The United States.
198 mi (319 km) NW from epicenter	Pearl City Hawaii, The United States.
199 mi (320 km) NW from epicenter	Kapolei Hawaii, The United States.
199 mi (321 km) NW from epicenter	Waipahu Hawaii, The United States.
201 mi (323 km) NW from epicenter	Makakilo City Hawaii, The United States.
201 mi (324 km) NW from epicenter	Makakilo Hawaii, The United States.
203 mi (326 km) NW from epicenter	Mililani Town Hawaii, The United States.
206 mi (331 km) NW from epicenter	Wahiawā Hawaii, The United States.
207 mi (333 km) NW from epicenter	Schofield Barracks 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 VII.

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.

6 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 6 smaller aftershocks occurred. A 4 magnitude earthquake hit 3 hrs later 1.6 mi (2.5 km) west of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 8 smaller foreshocks. Roughly 1 day before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-3 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 2.7	3 days earlier May 20, 2026 07:20AM (Honolulu Time)	39 mi (63 km) SE from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.6	2 days earlier May 20, 2026 01:45PM (Honolulu Time)	35 mi (57 km) SE from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.5	2 days earlier May 20, 2026 04:37PM (Honolulu Time)	29 mi (47 km) E from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.8	2 days earlier May 20, 2026 07:01PM (Honolulu Time)	37 mi (59 km) SE from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.5	2 days earlier May 20, 2026 07:33PM (Honolulu Time)	37 mi (59 km) SE from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.7	1 day earlier May 21, 2026 10:53AM (Honolulu Time)	25 mi (41 km) E from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 3.0	1 day earlier May 21, 2026 02:10PM (Honolulu Time)	21 mi (34 km) E from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.6	8 hrs earlier May 22, 2026 01:49PM (Honolulu Time)	30 mi (49 km) E from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 6.0	May 22, 2026 09:46PM (Honolulu Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.2	6 mins later May 22, 2026 09:52PM (Honolulu Time)	1.7 mi (2.7 km) NW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.6	1 hr later May 22, 2026 10:50PM (Honolulu Time)	1.7 mi (2.8 km) N from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.7	2 hrs later May 23, 2026 12:02AM (Honolulu Time)	1.8 mi (2.9 km) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 4.0	3 hrs later May 23, 2026 12:56AM (Honolulu Time)	1.6 mi (2.5 km) W from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.2	5 hrs later May 23, 2026 02:41AM (Honolulu Time)	3 mi (5 km) NW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.2	5 hrs later May 23, 2026 03:01AM (Honolulu Time)	30 mi (48 km) E 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.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

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

This is the strongest earthquake in 5 years

Earthquakes of this strength are not so common in the region, but it's not the first time. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since October 10th, 2021, when a 6.2 magnitude earthquake hit 41 mi (67 km) further south-east. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on May 4th, 2018.

In total, 2 earthquakes with a magnitude of 6 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 5 years.

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	Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 6. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 14 mi (23 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 23/05/26 17:18 (). 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.