5.0-magnitude earthquake rattles Hawaii’s Big Island

In this photo provided by the United States Geological Survey, red ash rises from the Puu Oo vent on Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano after a magnitude-5.0 earthquake struck the Big Island on Thursday, May 3, 2018, in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The temblor on Thursday is the latest and largest in a series of hundreds of small earthquakes to shake the island’s active volcano since the Puu Oo vent crater floor collapsed and caused magma to rush into new underground chambers on Monday. Scientists say a new eruption in the region is possible. (Kevan Kamibayashi/U.S. Geological Survey via AP)

HONOLULU – The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has reported that a 5.0-magnitude earthquake has struck Hawaii’s Big Island.

The temblor on Thursday is the latest and largest in a series of hundreds of small earthquakes to shake the island’s active volcano, Kilauea, since the Puu Oo (POO’-oo OH’-oh) vent crater floor collapsed and caused magma to rush into new underground chambers. Scientists said a new eruption in the region is possible.

The quake was centered about 6.9 kilometers (4.3 miles) deep on the south flank of Kilauea. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said the earthquake was not strong enough to trigger a tsunami.

Earthquakes in the region have been happening consistently since the Puu Oo crater collapsed on Monday.

“It appears that ground shaking from the earthquake caused rockfalls in the Puu Oo crater on Kilauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone, which resulted in a short-lived plume of reddish ash rising above the cone,” said Tina Neal, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory’s chief scientist in a statement.

Hawaii County officials reported on Wednesday that a road in the Big Island’s Puna District was closed after it was damaged by earlier quakes.              /kga