Hawaii Earthquake

An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter Scale shook the Hawaiian Islands on Sunday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Society. The Richter scale is used to express the total amount of energy released by an earthquake. Although the scale has no upper limit, values are typically between 1 and 9, and each increase of 1 represents a 32-fold increase in released energy.

Hawaii Earthquake

The quake caused a landslide that blocked a major highway on Hawaii Island and knocking out power across the state, authorities said.

"As far as damages go, we're not really sure yet," a Honolulu police spokeswoman who declined to give her name said in an interview. "We do have reports of power outages on the main island of Oahu."

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The jolt hit at 7:07 a.m. and was followed several strong to mild aftershocks measured at between 5.8 and 2.5 that were felt 60 miles away in Hilo, Hawaii, but there was no tsunami warning.

According to several wire service reports, Gov. Linda Lingle said in a radio interview with KSSK from Hawaii Island that she had no report of any fatalities. She said boulders fell on highways, rock walls collapsed and television had been knocked off stands.

"We were rocking and rolling," said Anne LaVasseur, who was on the second floor of a two-story, wood-framed house on the east side of the Big Island when the temblor struck. "I was pretty scared. We were swaying back and forth, like King Kong's pushing your house back and forth."

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The quake was centered about 9 miles west of Kailua Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii, some 15 miles under the Pacific, and 155 miles southeast of Honolulu.

--Jeff Freeland writes from Texas

Additional Sources, AP, USGS