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Location:
4 km S of Pāhala, Hawaii
Period:
19 Dec 2024 04:26:53 - 20 Dec 2024 23:41:58 (1 day 19 hours 15 minutes)
Volcanoes in 100km radius:
Kilauea(28km), Kama'ehuakanaloa(32km), Mauna Loa(39km), Mauna Kea(71km), Hualalai(75km)
Earthquakes:
42
116 swarms found nearby.
2000
S20000425.1(23.9km)
24 Apr
2 days 22 hours
63 earthquakes
VS20000505.1(27.2km)
5 May
7 days 4 hours
212 earthquakes
2003
VS20030624.1(28.5km)
23 Jun
2 days 20 hours
43 earthquakes
VS20030715.1(24.9km)
15 Jul
1 day 6 hours
31 earthquakes
VS20030805.1(26.2km)
4 Aug
1 day 22 hours
31 earthquakes
VS20030809.1(27.7km)
8 Aug
7 days 14 hours
101 earthquakes
VS20031119.1(26.4km)
18 Nov
3 days 20 hours
64 earthquakes
VS20031211.1(27.8km)
10 Dec
3 days 20 hours
97 earthquakes
2004
VS20040113.1(27.4km)
12 Jan
18 hours
25 earthquakes
VS20041103.1(26.2km)
2 Nov
1 day 1 hours
30 earthquakes
VS20041214.1(26.3km)
14 Dec
1 day 0 hours
32 earthquakes
S20041223.1(27.2km)
22 Dec
2 days 4 hours
32 earthquakes
2005
VS20050125.1(26.9km)
24 Jan
15 days 23 hours
208 earthquakes
2006
VS20060202.1(28.0km)
1 Feb
35 days 15 hours
821 earthquakes
VS20060312.1(28.9km)
11 Mar
3 days 5 hours
41 earthquakes
2007
S20070524.1(24.7km)
24 May
10 days 11 hours
114 earthquakes
S20070617.1(26.9km)
17 Jun
14 days 13 hours
411 earthquakes
S20070704.1(27.0km)
3 Jul
18 days 14 hours
216 earthquakes
2008
VS20081205.1(24.9km)
4 Dec
28 days 3 hours
473 earthquakes
2011
S20110204.1(25.9km)
3 Feb
14 days 16 hours
387 earthquakes
S20110302.1(28.1km)
1 Mar
7 days 9 hours
325 earthquakes
2012
VS20120223.1(29.8km)
22 Feb
3 days 4 hours
80 earthquakes
S20120529.2(27.6km)
28 May
5 days 8 hours
67 earthquakes
S20121025.1(27.6km)
24 Oct
10 days 1 hours
134 earthquakes
2013
S20130113.1(26.0km)
13 Jan
4 days 3 hours
63 earthquakes
2014
VS20140218.1(28.3km)
17 Feb
3 days 0 hours
53 earthquakes
VS20140514.1(22.4km)
13 May
4 days 23 hours
58 earthquakes
2015
VS20150224.1(24.3km)
23 Feb
3 days 17 hours
72 earthquakes
S20150423.1(24.6km)
22 Apr
25 days 2 hours
2099 earthquakes
S20151016.1(22.8km)
15 Oct
3 days 4 hours
45 earthquakes
S20151025.1(10.4km)
24 Oct
3 days 14 hours
70 earthquakes
2016
S20160824.2(26.6km)
24 Aug
2 days 3 hours
38 earthquakes
S20161125.1(25.2km)
24 Nov
4 days 12 hours
47 earthquakes
2017
VS20170305.1(27.8km)
4 Mar
2 days 10 hours
48 earthquakes
2018
VS20180307.1(27.5km)
6 Mar
2 days 12 hours
95 earthquakes
VS20180411.1(24.7km)
10 Apr
2 days 11 hours
153 earthquakes
VS20180417.1(20.2km)
16 Apr
1 day 23 hours
40 earthquakes
VS20180423.1(26.0km)
22 Apr
7 days 19 hours
134 earthquakes
S20180501.1(28.3km)
30 Apr
103 days 22 hours
42368 earthquakes
1 May
8 days 9 hours
196 earthquakes
4 May
3 days 4 hours
153 earthquakes
2 Jul
2 days 1 hours
30 earthquakes
2019
18 Aug
17 days 16 hours
217 earthquakes
VS20190903.1(30.0km)
2 Sep
1 day 11 hours
58 earthquakes
VS20191001.1(26.7km)
30 Sep
2 days 8 hours
35 earthquakes
13 Nov
27 days 22 hours
335 earthquakes
2020
3 Jan
106 days 22 hours
1689 earthquakes
VS20200317.1(26.9km)
16 Mar
3 days 2 hours
34 earthquakes
4 May
73 days 12 hours
948 earthquakes
22 Jul
18 days 5 hours
194 earthquakes
20 Aug
33 days 8 hours
392 earthquakes
VS20200904.1(27.2km)
3 Sep
1 day 6 hours
64 earthquakes
20 Oct
2 days 12 hours
37 earthquakes
VS20201023.1(28.2km)
22 Oct
7 days 18 hours
177 earthquakes
2 Nov
28 days 6 hours
288 earthquakes
VS20201118.1(28.4km)
18 Nov
1 day 8 hours
43 earthquakes
VS20201130.1(27.8km)
29 Nov
1 day 0 hours
88 earthquakes
VS20201202.1(27.3km)
1 Dec
23 days 2 hours
641 earthquakes
24 Dec
39 days 23 hours
662 earthquakes
2021
S20210205.1(23.1km)
4 Feb
25 days 20 hours
475 earthquakes
2 Mar
443 days 21 hours
9245 earthquakes
VS20210624.1(25.0km)
23 Jun
3 days 0 hours
45 earthquakes
S20210706.1(28.0km)
6 Jul
21 hours
30 earthquakes
VS20210805.1(27.0km)
4 Aug
8 days 18 hours
279 earthquakes
VS20210823.1(25.2km)
23 Aug
7 days 7 hours
859 earthquakes
30 Aug
2 days 9 hours
94 earthquakes
VS20210904.1(25.4km)
3 Sep
3 days 11 hours
37 earthquakes
S20210927.3(23.4km)
27 Sep
4 days 6 hours
168 earthquakes
2022
VS20220107.1(28.0km)
6 Jan
1 day 23 hours
52 earthquakes
VS20220110.1(28.1km)
9 Jan
5 days 9 hours
182 earthquakes
VS20220116.1(27.3km)
15 Jan
1 day 4 hours
26 earthquakes
27 May
7 days 0 hours
110 earthquakes
S20220620.1(13.1km)
19 Jun
244 days 22 hours
3458 earthquakes
VS20220921.1(28.5km)
20 Sep
1 day 1 hours
100 earthquakes
VS20221231.1(25.0km)
30 Dec
3 days 6 hours
44 earthquakes
2023
VS20230105.1(29.3km)
5 Jan
2 days 4 hours
67 earthquakes
23 Mar
60 days 21 hours
740 earthquakes
VS20230413.1(23.5km)
13 Apr
2 days 14 hours
48 earthquakes
VS20230419.1(28.7km)
19 Apr
25 days 21 hours
422 earthquakes
VS20230520.1(26.5km)
20 May
6 days 18 hours
135 earthquakes
27 May
7 days 18 hours
89 earthquakes
VS20230531.1(26.0km)
30 May
5 days 7 hours
108 earthquakes
VS20230607.2(26.8km)
6 Jun
1 day 9 hours
84 earthquakes
VS20230814.1(26.8km)
13 Aug
5 days 3 hours
331 earthquakes
VS20230822.1(21.7km)
21 Aug
21 days 21 hours
552 earthquakes
VS20231005.1(22.6km)
4 Oct
7 days 22 hours
244 earthquakes
S20231018.1(25.1km)
17 Oct
2 days 10 hours
35 earthquakes
20 Oct
11 days 13 hours
165 earthquakes
S20231026.1(26.3km)
26 Oct
2 days 8 hours
62 earthquakes
S20231113.1(24.3km)
12 Nov
11 days 4 hours
175 earthquakes
S20231120.1(27.0km)
20 Nov
1 day 23 hours
71 earthquakes
VS20231124.1(27.4km)
24 Nov
2 days 7 hours
79 earthquakes
VS20231202.1(13.2km)
1 Dec
2 days 5 hours
49 earthquakes
S20231207.1(29.2km)
6 Dec
10 days 10 hours
136 earthquakes
S20231208.1(14.5km)
7 Dec
2 days 13 hours
59 earthquakes
S20231213.2(25.7km)
12 Dec
1 day 4 hours
38 earthquakes
VS20231229.1(12.1km)
28 Dec
4 days 20 hours
173 earthquakes
2024
27 Jan
30 days 9 hours
1836 earthquakes
8 Feb
4 days 17 hours
200 earthquakes
12 Mar
6 days 16 hours
103 earthquakes
VS20240406.1(25.9km)
5 Apr
2 days 22 hours
42 earthquakes
VS20240416.1(27.3km)
15 Apr
4 days 17 hours
130 earthquakes
VS20240425.1(29.4km)
24 Apr
17 days 10 hours
864 earthquakes
S20240602.2(25.6km)
2 Jun
9 days 16 hours
450 earthquakes
VS20240622.1(27.5km)
21 Jun
28 days 3 hours
902 earthquakes
20 Jul
33 days 8 hours
1535 earthquakes
S20240817.1(28.2km)
16 Aug
25 days 7 hours
751 earthquakes
S20240912.1(27.8km)
11 Sep
13 days 12 hours
711 earthquakes
3 Dec
7 days 5 hours
138 earthquakes
VS20241214.1(26.7km)
13 Dec
7 days 8 hours
90 earthquakes
VS20241223.1(27.7km)
23 Dec
19 hours
35 earthquakes
2026
VS20260115.1(11.2km)
14 Jan
7 days 3 hours
84 earthquakes
S20260120.2(25.3km)
19 Jan
1 day 15 hours
29 earthquakes
S20260410.1(29.0km)
9 Apr
1 day 1 hours
25 earthquakes
VS20260429.1(27.6km)
28 Apr
9 days 19 hours
120 earthquakes
30 Jun
2 days 1 hours
35 earthquakes
AI-generated article — for informational and entertainment purposes only. May contain inaccuracies. Full disclaimerFound an error?

Seismic Swarm S20241220.1 Near Pāhala, Hawaii

A seismic swarm designated S20241220.1 occurred south of Pāhala on the Island of Hawaii, beginning at 04:26 on 19 December 2024 and concluding at 23:41 on 20 December 2024. Over 43 hours and 15 minutes, the sequence produced 42 earthquakes. Magnitudes ranged from 1.2 to 2.9, with the majority falling between 1.5 and 2.5. Focal depths clustered tightly around 28–34 km, indicating a consistent source volume beneath the Kaʻū district.

The swarm initiated with a magnitude-2.0 event at 30 km depth. Activity intensified during the evening of 19 December, including a magnitude-2.9 shock at 34 km. Subsequent events maintained similar depths while showing a gradual decline in rate through 20 December, ending with a magnitude-1.9 event at 29 km. This pattern is characteristic of volcanic or magmatic swarm sequences, in which numerous events of comparable size occur without a single dominant mainshock.

Pāhala lies on the southern flank of Kīlauea volcano within the active volcanic zone of the Big Island. The region experiences persistent seismicity driven by magma movement, flank slip along the décollement, and crustal stresses associated with the Hawaiian hotspot. Earthquakes at 25–35 km depth commonly reflect processes near the base of the volcanic edifice or within the underlying oceanic crust.

Seismic swarms have been recurrent in this area since at least 2000. Records document 110 swarms through 2024, with notable increases in frequency after 2018. Annual counts rose from single digits in the early 2000s to 22 swarms in 2023 and 13 in 2024. These episodes frequently accompany inflation or deflation cycles at Kīlauea and Mauna Loa, underscoring the link between swarm activity and magmatic recharge.

The December 2024 swarm fits within this established framework. Its duration, magnitude distribution, and depth range align with previously observed swarms south of Pāhala. No surface deformation or eruptive activity has been associated with this particular sequence, consistent with many past non-eruptive swarms in the same locale.

Continued monitoring by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory remains essential. Swarms in this region can precede changes in volcanic unrest, although most remain isolated seismic events without immediate hazard implications.

References

  • U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports on Kīlauea seismicity
  • SeismoSight internal swarm catalog (S20241220.1 parameters)
  • Historical swarm statistics compiled from USGS earthquake archives, 2000–2024