State and federal inspectors spread out across Hawaii on Monday, assessing damage from Sunday's 6.6 magnitude earthquake. The quake was the strongest to hit the state in more than two decades, but there were no immediate reports of fatalities.
"We know that on the Big Island, we have had some problems with road closures," Rodney Haraga, director of Hawaii's Department of Transportation, told NPR on Monday. "Right now, we're sending a team this morning to go to the Big Island to do an assessment on several highways."
Every island in the state was affected in some way. One commercial harbor is down because of structural damage, and authorities are still inspecting bridges across the state. The governor has authorized the use of National Guard helicopters and planes to help inspectors travel between the islands.
Earthquakes of greater than 6.0 magnitude are rare for Hawaii, which normally sees quakes related to volcanic activity in the 3-to-4 magnitude range. Accroding to the U.S. Geological Survey, Hawaii's largest recorded earthquake occurred on April 2, 1868. Seventy-seven people were killed in that quake, including dozens who drowned in a resulting tsunami.
No tsunami activity was recorded following Sunday's quake, thanks in part to the epicenter's location on land, rather than in the ocean.
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