Washington DC, May 4 (EFE).- A new earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale on Friday shook the area of the Hawaiian volcano Kilauea, which started to erupt Thursday and where some 1,700 people have been evacuated.
The earthquake occurred at a depth of 5.0 kilometers at 12.32 local time (22.32 GMT) and its epicenter was located 16 kilometers southwest of Leilani Estates, the town evacuated on Thursday after the eruption.
This earthquake was the strongest of numerous earthquakes in the area, including a 5.4-magnitude temblor an hour earlier.
It was followed by at least a dozen aftershocks of between 2.5 and 4.9 magnitude.
The Kilauea volcano erupted Thursday after several days of tremors in the area.
Authorities have set up two shelters and evacuated the residential area closest to the volcano, known as Leilani Estates.
In this residential area several cracks have opened up in the ground, from which lava and steam escaped.
The Kilauea volcano is located in the southeast of the big island of Hawaii, which is the largest in the archipelago, is located at the southeastern tip of the chain of islands and is home to some 185,000 people.
