LOS ANGELES, Oct 15: A strong earthquake of 6.3 magnitude jolted the island of Hawaii awake on Sunday, knocking out power and rattling windows, but officials were quick to say no tsunami was expected.
The US Geological Survey said the quake hit at 7.07am (1707 GMT) near the island of Hawaii and was followed by strong aftershock of 5.8 magnitude.
Governor Linda Lingle said in a radio interview that there had been no reports of deaths from the temblors.
But local media reported widespread power outages and structural damage, including to Kona Community Hospital in Kona, which had to be evacuated. There was no power on the island of Oahu, which includes the capital city of Honolulu.
Power officials told local media that it would be several hours before power would be restored.
Extensive road damage on the island of Hawaii had made driving conditions dangerous and officials were calling on residents and tourists to stay inside.
All of the state’s airports were closed to outbound traffic, but inbound planes were being allowed to land.
Don Blakeman, a USGS seismologist, said the damage reports were consistent with an earthquake of this size.
“I wouldn’t expect anything catastrophic,” he said. “But you never know about these things.”
Stewart Koyangi at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii said “no tsunami is expected,” from this quake, but that some areas had experienced strong shaking.
The epicentre was located 246kms from Honolulu.
US media reported extensive disruptions from the quake, including an island-wide blackout on the island of Oahu.
“Because of the island-wide blackout, things have come to a standstill,” Mahea Richardson, a Hawaii television reporter, told CNN.
A Hawaiian Telecom spokesman told local media that phone service was not interrupted but that high demand had disrupted service. He called on residents to stay off the phone except for emergencies.
Erik von Ancken, who was vacationing on the island of Hawaii with his fiancee, told CNN that the devastating 2004 tsunami that killed some 220,000 was the first thing that crossed his mind.
“It was a little bit nerve-wracking,” he said, noting that the fish started jumping before he could feel the shakes.
“The guess was that this was an earthquake,” he said, “The tsunami, that was everyone’s first thought. People started running for higher ground.”
Stephanie Landers, a nurse at Hawaii Community Hospital, on the big island, said the quakes shook supplies off the walls and knocked air conditioning units down.
“There was a whole lot of rocking and rolling,” she said, “and lots of screaming.”—AFP
