Hawaii Earthquake Hits Big Island With 5.3 Quake; No Tsunami Expected [VIDEO]

An earthquake originally pegged at 5.6 has been downgraded by the U.S. Geological Service.

The earthquake, now being called a 5.3 magnitude temblor, hit the Big Island 34 miles southeast of Pahala at a depth of 25 miles Tuesday afternoon, the Associated Press reported. Officials said that a tsunami is not expected to result from the quake.

"The earth is very sound down there there's not a lot of cracks, therefore waves travel very efficiently through the material," Wes Thele, USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Seismic Network manager, said.

Hawaii County Civil Defense Director Darryl Oliveira said there has been no reports of structural damges, UPI reported. Residents as far as Maui and Oahu told the USGS that they could feel the shaking.