An earthquake with a magnitude of 4.7 struck beneath the Kilauea volcano's east rift zone Thursday and was followed by several smaller aftershocks on the Big Island of Hawaii.

There was no immediate report of damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the temblor was the largest in that particular area in at least the last 50 years. Since 1998, only a few earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 4.0 have occurred at shallow depths beneath the upper-east rift zone.

The first earthquake struck at 9:13 a.m. and was located near Puhimau crater, about a mile deep.

A magnitude-4.1 aftershock followed at 9:33 a.m. beneath the volcano's Kokoolau crater. A series of other aftershocks followed including a magnitude-3.9 at 10:51 a.m.

USGS said the earthquakes are the largest so far in a series of tremors in the upper-east and southwest rift zones that started on May 12.

Kilauea began its current eruption on Jan. 3, 1983.