A 3.3-magnitude earthquake shook the ocean floor off Waikoloa yesterday evening, the fourth temblor of 3.0 or more to strike the state in a week's time.

Big Island police had no reports of damage or injuries from the minor quake, which occurred at 5:27 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey's Web site. The epicenter was 13 miles west-southwest of Waikoloa at a depth of about seven miles.

Hawai'i is among the top states when it comes to seismic activity, ranking behind Alaska and California in a U.S. Geological Survey count of earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.5 or greater between 1974 and 2003. Many of the quakes are linked to Hawai'i's volcanic activity, said Robert Cessaro, a senior geophysicist with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in 'Ewa Beach. He said the state has many minor quakes, which don't represent a tsunami threat.

"Earthquakes of magnitude 3 or so are pretty common," he said.

A quake fitting into this category occurred the evening of Aug. 28, when a 3.8-magnitude quake rattled windows on O'ahu and was felt on Moloka'i. That quake was 26 miles east-northeast of Waimanalo.

Two other quakes struck on Aug. 31 on or near the Big Island. A 3.1 temblor was recorded at 1:04 p.m. that day about 18 miles north of Pahala. It was followed by a 3.2 that was 30 miles offshore of Hilo at 8:38 p.m.

Other recent quakes in Hawai'i included a 4.5-magnitude quake that happened on July 27 off the Big Island and was felt as far away as Kaua'i.

Reach Greg Wiles at gwiles@honoluluadvertiser.com.