earthquake hawaii

Hawaii has frequent small earthquakes, and in late January 2026 there was a modest but widely felt quake, not a major disaster.

On January 26, 2026, a magnitude 4.2 earthquake occurred about 1 mile (2 km) northwest of Pāhala on the Island of Hawaiʻi at a depth of about 21 miles (33 km) below sea level.

It is part of a long‑running deep earthquake “swarm” under Pāhala that has been ongoing for about seven years and is not considered a sign of an imminent major eruption.

Shaking intensity was “light” (intensity IV) but felt widely across the Big Island, with over 300 felt reports in the first 45 minutes.

Separately, automated summaries list a smaller magnitude 2.1 quake near Hawaii on the evening of January 27, 2026, about 64 km west‑southwest of Hilo at 8 km depth.

No tsunami threat was reported from the January 26 quake; people are directed to NOAA’s tsunami site for confirmation.

USGS notes the Pāhala event had no apparent impact on the paused Halemaʻumaʻu eruption or on Mauna Loa and Kīlauea activity.

Hawaii regularly experiences small quakes around Fern Acres, Fern Forest, and other Big Island locations, often in the magnitude 1–3 range.

A recent example is a magnitude 2.1 quake near Fern Acres on January 13, 2026, at only 2 km depth, which generated no public damage reports.

Earthquake chatter about Hawaii often appears on forums like Reddit’s /r/Hawaii and /r/Earthquakes, with locals posting “Did anyone feel that?” during noticeable shakes.

Past Pacific events, such as the July 2025 tsunami warning for Hawaii after a distant 8.8 quake in Russia’s Far East, have also amplified concern and online discussion, even when Hawaii itself wasn’t the epicenter.

Check USGS and your local civil defense or emergency management channels for the very latest alerts and instructions.
For tsunami questions, verify with NOAA’s official tsunami information page, which is what USGS itself points residents to after felt quakes.

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Date (local)	Location	Magnitude	Depth	Main notes
Jan 26, 2026	1 mi NW of Pāhala, Island of Hawaiʻi	4.2	21 mi (33 km) below sea level	Part of ongoing deep Pāhala swarm; light shaking, widely felt; no tsunami, no major volcanic change.
Jan 27, 2026	Near Hawaii, 64 km WSW of Hilo	2.1	8 km	Small local quake, listed as latest event in 2026 earthquake log.
Jan 13, 2026	Near Fern Acres, SE of Fern Forest	2.1	2 km	Minor event, no public reports of impacts.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.