Puna area on Hawaii Island Shaken by Mysterious Force
BZ: There are two sources for coverage on this “Mysterious Boom” in The Puna area on Hawaii Island. The first one focuses just on the boom by a local video news outlet does not allow video embedding, you will need to go to the link to watch the video. The second is a CBS affiliate covering the story.
Puna area on Hawaii Island Shaken by Mysterious Force
Civil Defense says a number of agencies have no explanation for “quake” before 9 a.m.
Video by Daryl Lee
PUNA, Hawaii: A noisy, unexplained shaking in the Puna area of Hawaii Island remains a mystery at this time, but it certainly has the area talking.
A number of people in a triangular area between Seaview Estates, Leilani Estates, and Black Sand Beach Subdivision report hearing a thunder-like sound, or an explosion, and feeling the ground shake around 9 a.m. on Wednesday. Folks leaving comments on the popular Punaweb forum are saying it happened around 8:42 a.m.
John Drummond, the acting administrator of the Hawaii County Civil Defense, says that the incident cannot be explained at this point in time. Drummond says that he spoke to operators of Puna Geothermal Venture, the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, and personnel on the ground… no one has an explanation.
One theory being considered is some sort of sonic boom, although who or what could have produced such an effect is presently unknown.
News videographer Daryl Lee, who says he felt the shaking in Hawaiian Paradise Park, immediately hit the road in search of the source of the rumble. What he found were many folks around Puna makai who felt the same thing… but no answers. Drummond says luckily, there are no reports of damage as of 2 p.m
_________________________________________________________________________________
Big Island “booms” have residents asking questions
Reported by: Brianne Randle
February 22, 2012
http://www.khon2.com/news/local/story/Big-Island-booms-have-residents-as...
Kilauea Volcano has always been a sight to see, especially when Madame Pele is at her best. Early Wednesday, the active volcano sparked a swarm of small earthquakes that lasted all day.
“We haven’t seen event rates this high or this size of earthquakes become this large since 2006,” said Wes Thelen, the US Geological Survey’s Seismic Network Director.
The USGS’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory recorded over 60 earthquakes strong enough to be located beneath Kilauea, over a dozen of which were greater than a magnitude 2.0; the largest was a magnitude 3.2 earthquake.
“We are still seeing increased rates of seismisity in that area. We just had a magnitude 2.4 come through during the course of this call,” Thelen said.
Previous earthquake “swarms” have occurred at this same spot near the boundary between Mauna Loa and Kilauea Volcanos in 1990, 1993, 1997 and 2006.
The USGS received about ten reports from residents who felt Wednesday’s swarm.
“I was at home on my computer at about 8:40 and coincidentally I was blogging about the earthquakes that were happening throughout that time, all of a sudden a loud boom and a half-second later, my house shook,” said Pahoa resident Damon Tucker.
Damon Tucker was about 30 miles away in Pahoa. However, he’s never heard an explosion before an earthquake. He was told Hawaii County Civil Defense said the “boom” cannot be explained.
“It’s kinda been the word on the streets right now,” Tucker said.
It’s not known exactly what residents felt.
But, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory assures that Wednesday’s seismic swarm has not caused any apparent changes in the summit or east rift zone eruptions.
“Continue to keep close eye on what’s going on,” Thelen said.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park canceled a lava tour today, uncertain if there would be bigger earthquakes to follow.
http://the2012scenario.com/2012/02/puna-area-on-hawaii-island-shaken-by-mysterious-force/
