HONOLULU (KHON) — Nov. 29, 2025, marks the 50th anniversary of the largest Hawaiʻi earthquake–a magnitude-7.7 with over 30 seconds of shaking across the islands of Hawaiʻi, Maui and Oahu–in the 20th and 21st century, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a press release.
The tsunami waves that followed the “Kalapana earthquake” in 1975 led to tragedy: sweeping one camper at Halapē out to sea, “drowned or battered to death [another] by the waves” and hospitalized seven other campers, USGS reported.
Earthquake rattles Hawaiʻi Island
The earthquake resulted in $2.7 million estimated damages from cracks in roads, water pipes and walls, collapsed water tanks, rock walls and fences, and broken windows, USGS said.
After the shaking, a tsunami flooded the shores–reaching about 48 feet at its highest wave– and causing $1.4 million in damages, USGS said…