The August 21, 1951 earthquake
M6.3near Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake 6.2 miles deep, 5.2 miles off Hawaii County. The 10th strongest in Hawaii’s record since 1900, and the strongest within 50 miles since a magnitude 6.5 on October 5, 1929.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- moment magnitude (mw)
- Depth
- 6.2 mi
- 10.0 km below the surface
- Local time
- Tuesday, August 21, 1951
- 00:57 HST; 10:57 UTC
- In Hawaii’s record
- 10th
- strongest of 39,637 since 1900
USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, event iscgem894641 (“20 km SSW of Honaunau-Napoopoo, Hawaii”). The USGS event page carries the ShakeMap, felt reports and the official summary.
Counties and cities within 50 miles
Distance from the epicentre to each county boundary (zero when inside) and to each city centre.
Counties
- Hawaii CountyHI · 5.2 mi
Earthquakes around the epicentre
5,804 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or more within 50 miles of this epicentre since 1973.
Earlier earthquakes of magnitude 5 or more within 50 miles, strongest first
- October 5, 1929M6.5
- March 28, 1915M6.4
- November 1, 1918M6.2
- September 14, 1919M6.1
- January 2, 1935M5.9
- October 25, 1913M5.8
- November 21, 1935M5.6
- September 25, 1929M5.6
- December 27, 1944M5.6
- June 28, 1935M5.6
USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog. Local time is the time zone of the county nearest the epicentre. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them.