M 6.8 - Moloka`i area, Hawaii

This major earthquake caused severe damage on the islands of Lāna`i, Moloka`i, and Maui, and minor damage on Hawai`i and O`ahu. It was felt throughout the islands.

On Lāna`i, in the Pālāwai Basin a large part of the Kaholo Pali bluff fell into the sea, and enormous fragments broke from the towering ocean walls between Mānele Bay and Kamaiki Point. Masses of the red basalt were torn from the turrets of Pu`upehe, located on the southeast coast of Lāna`i. Huge boulders were hurled from the mountainsides, and ravines were filled with debris of rocks and trees. "Several great clefts opened" on different parts of the island.

On Moloka`i, in the Pūko`o area the earth opened for a distance of several meters; stone houses in the area cracked in every direction. A 1.5-m-deep hole opened in the ground at Pūko`o. At Kalua`aha, a small addition on the northwest corner of the old stone Mission house was thrown down and a part of the east gable end crashed down through the veranda roof below. Stone walls fell in every direction. In one place on the shore, a hole about 0.6 m in diameter and 5.5 m deep was formed by the sinking earth.

On Maui, at Lahaina all adobe and stone houses were cracked and some were damaged so severely that they were uninhabitable. The old Mission church was damaged, and its walls were cracked. All fence walls reportedly fell to the north. A stone building and the courthouse were damaged. The main road to Lahaina cracked open for several meters. Close to the pier, the earth cracked open for a length of 14.6 m. Damage was much less severe on other parts of Maui -- stone walls were thrown down at Ka`elekū, Kapueokahi, and Wailuku; cliffs collapsed at Ke`anae, Koali, Mu`olea, Pukuila, and Wailua. (Ref. 422.)

Maximum observed Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) VIII

Abridged from Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989 (Revised), by Carl W. Stover and Jerry L. Coffman, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527, United States Government Printing Office, Washington: 1993.

In addition, the quake was reported as the strongest ever felt on O`ahu and on Kaua`i. On Hawai`i, the shaking lasted 2 minutes in the Hilo area.

Abridged from Catalog of Hawaiian earthquakes, 1823-1959, by Fred W. Klein and Thomas L. Wright, U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1623, USGS Information Services, Denver: 2000.

Note that at the time of this earthquake, there was approximately a 10½ hour time difference between local time in Hawaii and GMT/UTC.
Reference: Schmitt, Robert G. and Cox, Doak G. (1997), Hawaiian Time, Hawaiian Journal of History, vol. 26, p 207-225, Hawaiian Historical Society, Honolulu.