HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Over the last month, strong earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 and higher have rocked the Philippines, Japan, Venezuela, and even Hawaii.

Researchers have been closely monitoring the activity, and while it may seem like more quakes than normal, they say it’s about on par with forecasts.

“This is all pretty normal for earthquakes. On a given year, we expect around 15 between magnitude 7 and 8, and about 150 between magnitude 6 and 7,” said Helen Janiszewski, assistant professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Department of Earth Sciences.

The quakes are, however, hitting in more populated places compared to some large earthquakes in past years, making them more noticeable.

“A couple years ago, there was an actual very similar, sequence of earthquakes to the one that we had in Venezuela where it was, 7.8 and 8.1 in very close sequence, but it was here, where no one lives,” Janiszewski said, pointing to the Southern Atlantic Ocean on a map.

Despite advancements in technology, researchers say there’s still no way to precisely predict when and where the next big earthquake will strike. But some seismology enthusiasts believe patterns can be monitored, studied, and used to implement potential life-saving warnings.

“I think it’s something that could happen as well across the world if people, scientists got together and really understood what’s happening. And then governments also utilize this knowledge to better notify and warn their citizens,” Pahoa resident Bob Gentzel said.

There are upwards of 100 seismographs throughout Hawaii constantly monitoring for quake activity.

Very subtle energy from the Venezuela quake was mapped traveling through the continent.

Some hope investments will be made in early-warning technology, as well as individual emergency preparedness.

“I’m just trying to prove the point that they can be forecastable because I want to save lives,” Gentzel said.

Janiszewski added, “There’s a lot that we can do still in the interim, both on an individual scale for preparedness in your own home as well as investment at community and state levels.”

MERIDIAN, Idaho — After months of delays, the Idaho Transportation Department says the final obstacle preventing the activation of new variable speed limit signs has been cleared, putting the long-awaited safety project one step closer to going live.

The electronic signs, installed along one of Idaho’s busiest roadways, will lower the speed limit from 55 mph to 45 mph during weekday rush hours — from 7 to 9 a.m. and again from 4 to 6 p.m. Officials say the safety project’s goal is to reduce crashes while improving traffic flow during the busiest times of day.

WATCH | Why these variable speed signs haven’t turned on months after installation

Eagle Road’s long-awaited variable speed signs one step closer to operation

The signs have remained inactive for months, prompting questions from Idaho News 6 viewers about why they had yet to be turned on.

According to ITD, the delay stemmed from the need to provide electrical service to the signs. Idaho Power first had to obtain easements from nearby property owners before power could be extended to the new infrastructure — a process that took longer than originally anticipated.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Meridian business owner recounts scary crash, welcoming lower speed limits on Eagle Rd

Idaho Power confirmed this week that the easement work and power installation portion of the project is now complete.

With electricity now connected, ITD says the remaining steps include final system testing before the signs are activated. The agency expects the variable speed limits could begin operating as soon as next week.

The project has been years in the making. Meridian Police have long advocated for reduced speeds during peak commuting hours along Eagle Road, citing the corridor’s growing traffic volumes and history of crashes.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | New road signs are coming to a stretch of Eagle Rd in Meridian

“I like it at 55, you get places faster, but it might help with accidents,” said Maddie Romine is a manager at Chicken Delite Mediterranean near Ustick and Eagle. She said she often avoids driving the corridor during afternoon rush hour because of heavy congestion and crashes she and her coworkers have witnessed.

“I don’t like to drive it anytime after 3 p.m. because it’s pretty congested,” Romine said.

Jim Howell, who drives Eagle Road nearly every day for work, said the corridor has changed dramatically over the past two decades.

“Lately, to travel 7½ miles takes 45 minutes,” Howell said. “Traffic doesn’t move because there are a lot of stoplights, so timing of the stoplights is key.”

PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Meridian business owner weighs in on Eagle Road turn closures

Meridian Police and the City of Meridian said they were disappointed the project did not launch as originally expected earlier this year but are looking forward to the additional safety benefits once the system becomes operational.

Once activated, the electronic signs will automatically display the lower 45 mph speed limit during weekday morning and evening commutes before returning to 55 mph during off-peak hours.

Idaho News 6 will continue following the project and provide updates once the signs officially go live.

After Miley Cyrus reunited with her alter ego for the Hannah Montana 20th anniversary special in March, one of her co-stars is explaining his absence.

Mitchel Musso, who played Hannah’s friend Oliver Oken on the Disney Channel show, noted he had a scheduling conflict, but he would have made time for the reunion if it was a new episode of the 2006-’11 series or a movie.

“The kid in me was banking on it, like ‘I can’t wait for us to all be on set again,’ and it just didn’t work out that way,” he said on the Joe Vulpis Podcast. “Do something other than what was done. Like, do an episode. Do the show. The set’s still there. Or it can be dressed very quick with somebody who’s a pro, and they did that for that and just did it differently.”

Musso continued, “It is what it is. But it wasn’t the right thing and I was busy doing something that was more important, right? But it would have been way more important if it would have just been an episode, or a movie, or a whatever. Of course, that would have been more important.”

The actor said he would have “dropped everything” if it meant getting back into character as Oliver. “It would have been everything,” he said.

“It didn’t turn out that way… Of course they asked me. But like I said, it wasn’t presented correctly,” added Musso. “And I’ve been waiting 10 years. You know, the people they say 20. My break’s been 10. So, it’s too long of a wait to do it in a way that isn’t even close to, in my opinion, correct.”

Emily Osment, who played Miley and Oliver’s friend Lilly Truscott, was also absent from the reunion special, noting she was busy filming Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage but feels “lucky to have been a part of this once-in-a-generation goliath of a television show” like Hannah Montana.