HILO, Hawai'i — Big Island residents were rocked awake by a "moderate" 5.2-magnitude earthquake centered below the ocean 49 miles north of Hilo early yesterday, but no damage was reported.

It was the largest earthquake recorded in Hawai'i in six years and the largest in that part of the Big Island in more than 30 years.

The 5:48 a.m. quake originated from an area 4.8 miles deep, scientists said. It was felt across much of the Big Island, as well as at several locations on Maui, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

"It started small and grew into a pretty good shaker," said Leslie Correia, who lives near Pa'auilo Village about 31 miles from the center of the earthquake.

Correia was standing in his bathroom and "my mirror started to shake, and then my wall, and I have some glass things in the bathroom and those things started to shake." Nothing in the home was damaged, however.

Correia said yesterday's quake reminded him of the 7.2 earthquake in 1975, a much larger temblor that generated a tsunami and killed two people.

Lanny Nakano, acting administrator with Hawai'i County Civil Defense, said there were no reports of injuries or damage. The quake did not generate a tsunami, he said.

Jim Kauahikaua, scientist-in-charge at the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said it is not known what caused the quake, which was the largest recorded in Hawai'i since the magnitude-5.6 Pahala earthquake on April 16, 1999.

Yesterday's quake was the largest in that general area of the Big Island since the magnitude-6.2 Honomu earthquake on April 26, 1973, he said.

USGS scientists reported a series of a half-dozen to a dozen smaller aftershocks yesterday in the same area.

All of yesterday's aftershocks were less than magnitude 3, making them so small they were unlikely to be felt on shore.

There have been four earthquakes recorded in Hawai'i with a magnitude of 5 or greater since January 2000.

The last magnitude-5 earthquake was at 12:06 a.m. on May 13, and was centered offshore near the Lo'ihi seamount and about 27 miles from Na'alehu on the southeast side of the Big Island.

For eruption updates and information on recent earthquakes in Hawai'i, visit Web site for the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory at hvo.wr.usgs.gov.