A strong earthquake shook Hawaii on Friday, according to the American Institute of Geophysics (USGS), without causing a tsunami warning in this Pacific archipelago.
The 5.7 magnitude earthquake struck the Pahala area on the island of Hawaii, according to the USGS. Its depth was estimated at 37 kilometers.
“No tsunami is expected. However (…) many areas are likely to have suffered strong shaking,” the agency warned.
The island of Hawaii is the largest of this volcanic archipelago, regularly subject to eruptions or earthquakes. It is home to more than 200,000 people.
According to local media, the earthquake does not appear to have caused major damage. Some residents saw their belongings fall from the shelves and their decorations fall off the walls.
The archipelago has six volcanoes.
The island of Hawaii is notably home to Mauna Loa, which erupted for the first time in almost 40 years at the end of 2022, spewing fountains of lava up to 60 meters high.
Its more modest neighbor, Kilauea, remained in eruption almost continuously between 1983 and 2019, and is a popular attraction for tourists who fly over it by helicopter. In 2018, its lava flows destroyed more than 700 homes.
