On Wednesday Night an M4.6 Earthquake struck in the North Pacific Ocean near Hilo (The United States).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on June 17th, 2026.

In the North Pacific Ocean 47 miles from Hilo, The United States, a M4.6 earthquake occurred in the night of Wednesday June 17th, 2026. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 220 thousand people.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the North Pacific Ocean, right off the coast of The United States (12 km offshore), 47 miles south of Hilo in Hawaii. The center of this earthquake had a quite shallow depth of 21 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jun 17, 2026 02:14AM (Honolulu Time) - Jun 17, 2026 12:14 Universal Time.
Location:	47 mi south of Hilo, Hawaii, The United States. Coordinates 19°5'43"N 155°21'43"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.6 Detected by 17 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.175 .
Depth:	21 mi (33 km) A quite shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate 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 95% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 220 thousand people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 220 thousand have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is IV, which corresponds with light shaking and likely no damage. Roughly 2,030 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by a large group of people (around 170 thousand). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
121,500	I	Not noticable	None
54,090	II	Very weak	None
167,100	III	Weak	Probably none
2,030	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 . Located 47 miles (76 km) south of the epicenter of this earthquake, Hilo (Hawaii, The United States) is the nearest significant population center. Hilo experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly III. That level implies weak shaking and probably 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)
47 mi (76 km) N from epicenter	Hilo Hawaii, The United States.	III Weak
135 mi (217 km) NW from epicenter	Kīhei Hawaii, The United States.	I Not felt
144 mi (231 km) NW from epicenter	Kahului Hawaii, The United States.	I Not felt
145 mi (233 km) NW from epicenter	Wailuku Hawaii, The United States.	I Not felt

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is IV. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

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.

Aftershocks detected

This main shock was prefaced by 2 smaller foreshocks. Roughly 3 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-2.8 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 2.8	3 days earlier Jun 14, 2026 11:16AM (Honolulu Time)	38 mi (61 km) NW from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 2.6	5 hrs earlier Jun 16, 2026 08:53PM (Honolulu Time)	11 mi (17 km) NW from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 4.6	Jun 17, 2026 02:14AM (Honolulu Time)	-

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.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

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 June 10th, 2026, when a 4.7 magnitude earthquake hit 58 mi (93 km) further north-east. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on May 4th, 2018.

In total, 92 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.6 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 month.

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 4.6. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 21 mi (33 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 17/06/26 19:08 (). 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.