8.0 magnitude quake generates tsunami off Samoa islands

[Watchman]

8.0 magnitude quake generates tsunami off Samoa islands
Tue Sep 29, 2009 3:37pm EDT



WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A powerful 8.0 magnitude earthquake in the Pacific off the Samoa islands region generated a tsunami, U.S. government agencies said on Tuesday.

Sea level readings indicated a tsunami was generated, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, a branch of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said.

The agency earlier issued a tsunami warning for New Zealand, American Samoa and other small Pacific islands.

The West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said that a tsunami had been observed at Apia, Western Samoa, and at Pago Pago, American Samoa. The waves at Pago Pago were 5.1 feet above normal sea level.

In Western Samoa, some residents told Radio New Zealand they had felt a big jolt and were recommended by authorities to move to higher ground.

An official from American Samoa told Fox television he had felt shaking for up to five minutes.

Police in Tonga said they had not received any word of the quake or tsunami warning yet.

The epicenter of the quake was located 120 miles southwest of American Samoa, a remote Pacific island, the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS earlier said the quake measured 7.9 magnitude. It struck at a depth of 11.2 miles.

"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated. It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicenter and could also be a threat to more distant coasts," the Pacific warning center said.

 

[TeeKee]

'Three dead' in tsunami off Samoa

A tsunami caused by a powerful earthquake in the Pacific has killed at least three people and injured 50 in Samoa, officials said.

Dr Lemalu Fiu of the main hospital in the capital, Apia, said the number of casualties is expected to rise as the injured arrive from coastal areas.

An 8.3-magnitude quake struck at 1748 GMT, generating 5ft (1.57m) waves in Apia and Pago Pago, American Samoa.

A tsunami warning has been issued for all of New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) said the quake struck at a depth of 33km (20 miles) some 190km from Apia.

Radio New Zealand quoted Samoan residents as saying that villages were inundated and homes and cars swept away.

Reports from the area say people in Samoa are fleeing to higher ground. Witnesses have reported scenes of destruction.

"Its horrible... The village is gone and my once beautiful beach front villa has now being submerged in water," Josh Nayangu told the BBC after fleeing the area on a small fishing boat with his wife and son.

General alert

"Based on all available data, a tsunami may have been generated by this earthquake that could be destructive on coastal areas even far from the epicentre," the PTWC - a branch of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - said in a statement on its website.

Stuart Weinstein of the PTWC told the BBC that the agency was monitoring the situation.

In 2004, a Boxing Day quake in the Indian Ocean generated a powerful tsunami that killed tens of thousands people in Asia.

Mr Weinstein said Tuesday's quake was "much smaller" than that tsunami, and only had 3% of the energy generated by the 2004 quake.

He said he expected the quake to be destructive in the areas closest to the epicentre, but said it "remains to be seen" how far any devastation would spread.

A tsunami watch is also in effect for Hawaii, Papua New Guinea and other small Pacific islands, although no warning has been issued in these areas as yet.

The Samoa islands comprise two separate entities - the nation of Samoa and American Samoa, a US territory - with a total population of about 250,000 people.


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