Magnitude 4.6 Quake Hits Kilauea South Flank Minutes After Eruption Pause

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake registered near Hawaii's Kilauea volcano late on Wednesday, November 26, 2025, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). The epicenter was precisely located on the volcano's southern flank, an area known for frequent seismic activity. This significant tremor occurred just ten minutes after the conclusion of Kilauea's 37th eruptive episode, which had involved intense lava fountaining for more than nine hours.

The close timing between the eruption's cessation at 11:39 p.m. local time and the M4.6 quake at 11:49 p.m. has prompted scientific review regarding potential causal relationships, although the federal agency initially suggested the events were not directly linked. The earthquake was recorded at a shallow depth, approximately three miles below sea level, and was centered about nine miles south-southeast of Fern Forest. HVO analysis indicated the event was consistent with slip along established south flank faults, a process involving the volcano's mass sliding southeastward over the oceanic crust.

The seismic event was widely felt across the Island of Hawaiʻi, generating nearly 500 "Felt Reports" on the USGS "Did You Feel It?" website within five hours. Despite the tremor, the ongoing summit eruption, designated as episode 37, continued, with the USGS maintaining the Volcano Alert Level at WATCH and the Aviation Color Code at ORANGE for November 26, 2025. The south flank of Kilauea is recognized as one of the most seismically active regions in the United States, with HVO routinely recording thousands of earthquakes beneath it annually as part of the island-building process.

While the immediate impact was deemed minimal, with no tsunami threat issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the event underscores persistent geological forces. Some seismologists, including Ashton Flinders, suggest the earthquake could be an aftershock related to the major magnitude-6.9 south flank earthquake that occurred during the intense 2018 eruption sequence. Furthermore, resumption of inflationary tilt following the end of the fountaining suggests the summit magma reservoir is repressurizing, indicating the potential for another eruptive phase in the subsequent weeks.

The area around Kilauea caldera, closed to the public since late 2007, remains hazardous due to potential rockfalls and ground cracking exacerbated by seismic activity. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory continues continuous monitoring, coordinating with entities such as Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park and the Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense Agency to track these dynamic subsurface processes.