With a 70-fold increase in the number of earthquakes since 2015, the small Hawaiian town of Pahala has literally become "the heart of rock and roll!" Pahala is currently the most seismically active place in the state. Since mid-2019 there have been 600 earthquakes on average each week. While many of these deep seismic events are strong enough to be felt by residents, there are also a lot of "microquakes."
Scientists believe that all this shaking is caused by magma flowing deeply beneath the earth. It is originating at the hot spot, which is beneath the ocean, 15 miles east of Hawaii Island. From there it is theorized to be traveling under Pahala and then into the magma chambers beneath Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Hualalai. A large team of experts is currently trying to understand the reason for the sudden sharp uptick in activity.