(USGS) At 10:30 HST, ground shaking from a preliminary magnitude-5.0 earthquake south of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō caused rockfalls and possibly additional collapse into the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater on Kīlauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone. A short-lived plume of ash produced by this event lofted skyward and dissipated as it drifted southwest from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō. Downwind areas may have experienced a dusting of ash from this plume. At this time, the 10:30 earthquake has caused no other changes at Kīlauea Volcano.

UPDATE (12 p.m.) – USGS has issued a new media release, which keeps the magnitude of the earthquake at magnitude 5. USGS said:

The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) recorded a magnitude-5.0 earthquake on Thursday, May 3, 2018, at approximately 10:31 a.m. HST.

The earthquake was located about 7 km (4.3 mi) southeast of Volcano, on the Island of Hawaiʻi, at a depth of 6.9 km (4.3 mi). A map showing the location of the earthquake is posted on HVO’s website.

The USGS “Did you feel it?” website received over 500 felt reports from around the Island of Hawai‘i within an hour after the quake. The maximum intensity of shaking was recorded as VI on the Mercalli Intensity Scale, indicating strong shaking at the earthquake’s epicenter. For more information see the USGS ShakeMap.

“It appears that ground shaking from the earthquake caused rockfalls in the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater on Kīlauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone, which resulted in a short-lived plume of reddish ash rising above the cone,” said Tina Neal, HVO Scientist-in-Charge. No other changes at Kīlauea have been observed, but HVO scientists are closely monitoring the data.

According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) no tsunami was generated by the earthquake.

UPDATE (11:25 a.m.) – The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory has posted this information on the earthquake that occurred Thursday:

At 10:30 HST, ground shaking from a preliminary magnitude-5.0 earthquake south of Pu’u ‘Ō’ō caused rockfalls and possibly additional collapse into the Pu’u ‘Ō’ō crater on Kīlauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone.

A short-lived plume of ash produced by this event lofted skyward and is continuing to dissipate as it drifts southwest from Pu’u ‘Ō’ō. Anyone downwind may experience a dusting of ash.

At this time, the 10:30 earthquake has caused no other changes at Kīlauea Volcano. HVO will continue to closely watch monitoring data for any changes.

HVO has field crews working along the rift zone at this time. HVO will post additional information and photographs later today.

(ORIGINAL SYORY) – Preliminary data indicates that an earthquake measuring a magnitude of 4.6 was centered in the vicinity of the south flank of Kilauea Volcano, emergency officials say.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center reports the earthquake occurred at approximately 10:31 AM today and was not large enough to cause a tsunami for the island of Hawai’i.

“As in all earthquakes, be aware of the possibility of aftershocks,” Hawaii County Civil Defense states. “If the earthquake was strongly felt in your area, precautionary checks should be made for any damages; especially to utility connections of gas, water, and electricity.”