UPDATE – (12 noon HST on Friday, October 14)

• Two earthquakes under Kaʻū on Friday morning – the first a magnitude 4.6 followed 24 seconds later by a larger magnitude-5.0 – combined to create “shaking of longer duration and possibly greater intensity than either of the earthquakes would have created on their own”, which may have been strong enough to do “minor local damage, especially to older buildings,” scientists say.
• The aftershock sequence is continuing, and could go on for several days to possibly weeks and may be large enough to be felt.
• The sequence of earthquakes appears to be related to readjustments along the southeast flank of Mauna Loa volcano, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says. “There has been no immediate effect on the continuing unrest beneath Mauna Loa summit, which remains elevated at levels similar to the past week,” USGS said. It is not known at this time if this sequence of earthquakes is directly related to the ongoing unrest on Mauna Loa.

From the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory:

HAWAIIAN VOLCANO OBSERVATORY INFORMATION STATEMENT 

Two moderate earthquakes occurred beneath the southern end of the Island of Hawai‘i at 9:07 a.m. this morning. The first earthquake (magnitude-4.6) was slightly offshore and south of Pāhala, at about 13 km (8 mi) depth. It was followed 24 seconds later by a larger magnitude-5.0 earthquake just south of Pāhala, 7.4 km (4.6 mi) beneath Highway 11. These two larger earthquakes were followed by a string of aftershocks, mostly less than magnitude-3.0, but including some larger ones up to magnitude-4.0. The aftershock sequence is continuing, between 0–12 km (0–7 mi) depth, south of Pāhala. The aftershocks could continue for several days to possibly weeks and may be large enough to be felt.

The two larger earthquakes were reported by hundreds of people from the Island of Hawaiʻi and felt to a lesser extent across the entire State of Hawai’i. Shaking from the larger earthquakes may have been strong enough to do minor local damage, especially to older buildings. The two earthquakes occurred within 24 seconds of each other creating shaking of longer duration and possibly greater intensity than either of the earthquakes would have created on their own.

This sequence of earthquakes appears to be related to readjustments along the southeast flank of Mauna Loa volcano. There has been no immediate effect on the continuing unrest beneath Mauna Loa summit, which remains elevated at levels similar to the past week. On several occassions large earthquakes have preceded past eruptions of Mauna Loa, though these have typically been larger than today’s earthquakes. It is not known at this time if this sequence of earthquakes is directly related to the ongoing unrest on Mauna Loa.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory will continue to closely monitor Mauna Loa for any changes.