Earthquake hits Hawaii volcano

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - An earthquake with an initial estimated magnitude of 5.0 hit the big island of Hawaii.  It is the largest of a series of quakes that have hit the island as a volcano has spewed lava, forcing evacuations.

It happened Thursday on the south flank of the Kilauea volcano.  Some moderate shaking was reported across the island and on neighboring Maui.

The U.S. Geological Survey says that it hit about 10:30 a.m. local time Thursday on the southeast side of the island directly south of the Hilo airport and military base.  More smaller quakes continued on Friday.  The latest was a 2.7 quake that hit 11a.m. local time on Friday.

The largest quake hit:

16 km (10 miles) SSE (156 degrees) of Fern Forest, HI

17 km (11 miles) SSE (168 degrees) of Eden Roc, HI

19 km (12 miles) S (174 degrees) of Fern Acres, HI

40 km (25 miles) S (178 degrees) of Hilo, HI

361 km (224 miles) SE (127 degrees) of Honolulu, HI

There were no reports of damage.  There was no Tsunami watches or warnings posted after the earthquake.

Hawaii's Kilauea volcano has been releasing red lava into a residential subdivision, prompting the county to order mandatory evacuations.