M4.1 earthquake 15 km S of Volcano, Hawaii

A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 15 km S of Volcano, Hawaii on Wed, Sep 30, 1981, 7:04 AM HST (17:04 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.5 12 km SSE of Volcano, Hawaii. This one was a foreshock.

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
4.12	ML, local (Richter)	Hawaiian Volcano Observatory	Preferred · Final · ±0.09 · 5 stations
3.8	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

FELT AT HILO AND PUNA.

From the USGS event page for hv19813399. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 198 in the 60 days after this one and 148 in the 30 days before it.

The first 60 of 198.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event hv19813399 (also filed as usp0001g75). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 9:46 AM UTC.