Two Strong Earthquakes Rock Hawaii

Two earthquakes with magnitudes of 6.3 and 5.8 have shaken the Big Island of Hawaii, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has reported this Sunday morning, causing tremors and power outages to be felt as far away as the island of Oahu.

The USGS categorizes earthquakes registering as high as 6.3 on the Richter scale as "strong."

Thankfully, no tsunami warning has been issued at this time nor is anticipated, though big wave activity is expected. "There is no tsunami warning in place," Victor Sardina, a geophysicist reported.

Bloomberg.com reports that Bruce Presgrave, a geophysicist at the USGS in Golden, Colorado, said in a telephone interview that ``the quakes were stronger than we first thought.''

The largest of the Hawaiian Islands experienced the first quake measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale at 7:07 a.m. local time. The epicenter has been reported as being located nine miles, or 14 kilometers, north-northwest of Kalaoa, according official agents. Kalaoa is on the Big Island's west side.

The second quake, which measured 5.8 on the Richter scale, reportedly hit at 7:14 a.m. with an epicenter 18 miles north-northwest of Kalaoa, the government has reported.

No injuries have been reported as of this writing.

The earthquakes also affected the town of Kailua Kona, which is on the Big Island's west coast, situated about 155 miles southeast of the state capital of Honolulu on the island of Oahu.

According to the Pacific Tsunami Center, Kailua-Kona has suffered partial damage, and the two earthquakes have caused a landslide along a major Big Island highway.

Reports from the U.S. Geological Survey point to several aftershocks, but researchers are still trying to figure out the number and intensity of aftershocks that have followed these powerful earthquakes.

Thus far, six weaker shocks ranging from 3.1 to 3.6 on the Richter scale have been reported at least an hour or more following the intial two big quakes.

A spokesperson for the civil defense said that power has been knocked out in part on every island, including Oahu, where Honolulu is located.

"We had a power supply outage and we're running on power backup," Sardina has reportedly said in a telephone interview. "This whole area was shaken up. It was pretty strong shaking."

We will continue to keep a close eye on the after effects of these two strong earthquakes that have struck Hawaii, and keep the folks of our beloved Hawaiian Islands in our deepest prayers.