The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has recorded an earthquake in Leilani Estates on Hawaii’s Big Island, months after the island was rocked by an immense eruption of Kilauea volcano.
The island is still reeling from the constant eruptions which started on May 3 and were relentless and unyielding in their frequency.
Lava fissures opened up on the lower East Rift Zone and produced billions of cubic feet of lava.
The lava covered substantial portions of Leilani Estates and Lanipuna Gardens, completely inundated Vacationland Hawaii and all but three houses in the Kapoho Beach Lots.
The total number of houses consumed by the eruption has increased to 700.
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The earthquake struck at around 6am BST on Tuesday struck at a depth of 7.2km and 10km south-west of Leilani Estates.
Summit explosions have caused the long-term closure of the Kilauea section of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, but it finally reopened in September.
The national park has been closed for 135 days as volcanic activity caused explosive eruptions, earthquakes and the collapse of the Halemaumau crater.
The USGS has posted pictures showing the damage Kilauea has done.
There were four satellite images taken over the Leilani Estates subdivision, Lanipuna Gardens subdivision and Kapoho Bay which was filled completely with lava from fissure 8.
The lava flows consumed entire neighbourhoods, filled an ocean bay and created miles of new shoreline with fresh black sand beaches and jagged rock outcrops.
Inside the park, molten rock drained from the summit lava lake an vanished from view as the landscape underwent a monumental change.
In addition to Kilauea’s eruption, the park has had to deal with two hurricanes, a tropical storm and a wildfire which engulfed 3,700 acres of land.
Scientists have said it is unclear whether Kilauea has stopped erupting or this is just a pause in its activity.
Wendy Stovall, a senior volcanologist at the USGS, told Earther magma will be resupplied to Kilauea and lava will eventually return to the summit.
She said: “Right now, we don’t know how that will manifest.”
A lava lake, lava fountains or explosive eruptions are all possible scenarios.
The USGS’s Hawaii Volcano Observatory will continue to monitor Kilauea.