Minor earthquake shakes Isles
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
A minor earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 3.2 hit off the western edge of Moloka'i at 8:10 last night but was felt throughout the Islands.
People on O'ahu reported feeling the quake from Sunset Beach to Hawai'i Kai.
One caller to The Advertiser said the quake "shook the whole bed" at her home in lower Nu'uanu. Others said their windows and dishes rattled.
No damage was reported.
There was some confusion last night about the location of the quake's epicenter.
Dr. Robert Cessaro, a geophysicist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in 'Ewa Beach, said the epicenter was at 21.5 degrees north by 157.4 degrees west, off Moloka'i.
But the U.S. Geological Survey Web site showed the epicenter between Maui and the Big Island, at 20.25 degrees north by 156.3 degrees west.
Officials with the tsunami warning center, reached late last night, stood by their analysis.
Although the quake shook up O'ahu residents, there was no concern or risk of a tsunami, Cessaro said.
"We don't get too excited about ones this size," he said. "It's way, way, way too small."
Dianna Solatorio, a cashier at Molokai Wines 'N Spirits in Kaunakakai on Moloka'i, heard about the quake when her daughter called from Kane'ohe, saying "the earth was rolling under her feet. Weird, huh?"
"Nobody's talking about it here," Solatorio said.
"Usually if something happens, we hear it."
Solatorio then called her granddaughter about 20 miles away in Maunaloa on the west side of Moloka'i.
"She said it felt like a pressure was pushing on the house," Solatorio said.
The last measurable quake to hit the Islands occurred earlier last night when a "negligible" quake struck at 7:41 p.m., preceded by a magnitude 2 quake at 6:40 p.m., Cessaro said.
"We have them all the time," Cessaro said.
"We don't feel them here (on O'ahu) because most are on the Big Island."
Staff writer Curtis Lum contributed to this report.Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.
