A powerful magnitude 6.0 earthquake rattled Hawaii Island on Friday night, sending residents scrambling for safety as intense shaking knocked items off shelves, cracked toilets, and toppled furniture in homes across the region.

The quake struck around 9:46 p.m. local time, centered about seven miles east-southeast of Honaunau in the South Kona area, at a depth of 14 miles along the western flank of Mauna Loa. A smaller magnitude 3.2 aftershock followed just six minutes later.

Thankfully, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center confirmed no tsunami was generated, and officials say the earthquakes were not directly linked to volcanic activity.

Former Hawaii News Now reporter Lacy Deniz described the violent shaking in her Honaunau home as “like something out of a movie.”

“It was quite terrifying. It was very violent,” she said. “Our house was literally shaking from side to side… My mom had to stand over my son and shield him because all the glass was coming out of the cabinets and falling on the floor.”

Deniz and her family escaped outside with only minor cuts, but the damage inside was extensive — broken glass everywhere, cabinets flung open, and heavy furniture toppled.

The quake was felt strongly across multiple islands, with reports coming in from as far as Kauai, Oahu, and Maui.

While no major structural damage or serious injuries have been widely reported so far, this strong earthquake serves as a stark reminder of Hawaii’s constant vulnerability to seismic activity. The U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory explained that the quake was caused by stress from the massive weight of the Hawaiian island chain bending the oceanic plate beneath it.

Aftershocks are expected in the coming days, though most are unlikely to be strong enough to cause additional damage. For residents like Deniz and her family, the event was a frightening wake-up call about living on one of the most geologically active places on Earth.

As Hawaii continues to monitor the situation, many are left reflecting on how quickly the ground can shift — literally — beneath their feet, even on a seemingly quiet Friday night.