Here we are, all set for a vacation in Hawaii, and they have an earthquake. As I understand it, this is not just a little moving magma tremble, but a real crustal fault earthquake. Naturally, sitting out there in the middle of a tectonic plate, it has to be related to vulcanism. The explanation is that the weight of all that volcanic material piled up on top of the crust has caused the plate to crack. The quake i
was somewhere between 6.5 and 6.7, depending on which report you read. The damage was serious in only a few places. It damaged a very old church on the Kona coast and caused landslides that blocked roads. Fortunately, the epicenter was just off shore from a thinly populated region of Hawaii (da Big Island).

Hawiians are rather self-suffecient, due to being isolated, and they will have everything back to normal quickly.

Had the 'quake occured on the other side of Hawaii, there would have been more damage to bridges. I have flown along the coast going into Hilo, and the coastal highway crosses one deep canyon after another on very high bridges.

Hawaii has bridges that are as much as 90 years old and still in use.

I don't expect very many people to cancel their Hawiian vacation. This is low season over there and the loss of infrastructure could not have come at a better time. A few hotels will need repair, but there will be plenty of rooms available. We will be sleeping on the cruise ship and wandering around various islands during the day. I expect no problems.

I wonder if FEMA has gotten word of this situation yet.
Howard