As Hawaii prepares for the possibility of a significant volcanic eruption potentially in a residential area, a strong quake rattled the Big Island this morning. At 10:30am local time, a 5.0 magnitude quake struck 11 miles south of Fern Acres, Hawaii.

The shaking south of Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō caused rockfalls and possibly additional collapse into the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō crater on Kīlauea Volcano’s East Rift Zone. A short-lived plume of ash produced by this event lofted skyward and dissipated as it drifted southwest from Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō.