LOS ANGELES, May 4 (Xinhua) -- An earthquake measuring 6.9 magnitude on the Richter scale jolted the Big Island of Hawaii on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.
No casualties have been reported so far and no tsunami threat is in place, according to the authorities.
The quake struck 16 km southwest of Leilani Estates, Hawaii at 12:32 p.m. local time (2232 GMT).
The epicenter, with a depth of 5 km, was initially determined to be at 19.3702 degrees north latitude and 155.0321 degrees west longitude.
The 6.9-magnitude earthquake was the largest in Hawaii since 1975. "This is in almost exactly the same location as the deadly 1975 M 7.1 earthquake," the USGS tweeted.
Bystanders said the latest quake appeared to last about 15 seconds, sending people fleeing from buildings and community centers, local news outlet Hawaii News Now reported.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii following the 6.9-magnitude earthquake which came about an hour after a 5.4-magnitude earthquake. There have been hundreds of earthquakes this week in the area.
The Big Island is the largest island in the Hawaiian Island chain, which is home to roughly 200,000 people and the Kilauea Volcano, one of the youngest and most active volcanoes in the world.
Several eruptions from Kilauea Volcano from Thursday night to Friday morning damaged at least two homes and forced thousands of residents to evacuate, the authorities said, reporting no casualties so far. Friday's eruption is the third eruption from the volcano in 12 hours.
Lava spatter and gas bursts erupted from the fissure for about two hours, and lava spread a short distance from the fissure, less than about 10 m, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.
The agency deployed geologists to the eruption site overnight to track additional activity that may occur, and other scientists are closely tracking the volcano's overall activity.
The eruptions forced nearly 1,500 people to flee from their homes. Local residents received alerts from country and city officials to prepare for evacuation this week.
