Authorities say a magnitude-6.9 earthquake that hit Hawaii’s Big Island is the largest to strike in more than four decades.

Pacific Tsunami Warning Center Director Chip McCreery says a magnitude-7.5 earthquake rocked the island in 1975. Magnitude-6.7 earthquakes hit in 1983 and 2006.

Friday’s temblor came amid a series of quakes as lava breaks out from new vents in the Earth from Kilauea volcano.

Hawaiian Volcano Observatory spokeswoman Janet Babb says scientists are processing data from the earthquakes to see if they’re affecting the eruption.

She says magma is moving down the rift zones, which stresses the south flank of the volcano.

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