efq
29-09-2009, 09:55 PM
Breaking News
10:50pm UK, Tuesday September 29, 2009
A tsunami has hit the Samoan islands - killing at least 14 people, according to reports.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2009/Sep/Week4/15395401.jpg Earthquake epicentre was southwest of American Samoa
It was sparked by a powerful earthquake about 100 miles away in the Pacific Ocean.
The quake, which measured 8.0 on the Richter scale, caused waves measuring around 1.5-metres tall to strike Western Samoa and American Samoa.
Five tsunami waves hit American Samoa and 14 people were killed there, local reports said.
Villages in Western Samoa are thought to have been "wiped out" and people have been reported missing, a journalist for Radio Polynesia told Radio New Zealand.
A police spokeswoman in Western Samoa said the tsunami had killed an unknown number of people on the island.
She said: "I can confirm there is damage, I can confirm there are deaths and I can confirm there are casualties. I cannot say any more at the moment."
In New Zealand, authorities ordered people in low-lying coastal homes and camp sites to evacuate.
In Western Samoa, New Zealander Graeme Ansell said the beach village of Sau Sau Beach Fale had been levelled, while in the capital, Apia, families fled their homes for higher ground.
There were reports of severe shaking that lasted for up to three minutes.
Power cuts have been reported and students have apparently been seen ransacking a petrol station and a convenience store.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu, Hawaii, issued a tsunami warning for American Samoa and other areas of the Pacific, including New Zealand.
A tsunami watch was posted elsewhere, including Hawaii and the Marshall Islands.
The epicentre of the quake was 120 miles southwest of American Samoa and at a depth of 11.2 miles, said the US Geological Survey.
The quake happened at 6:48am (local time).
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Tsunami-Hits-American-Samoa-After-Earthquake-In-Pacific-Measuring-80-On-Richter-Scale/Article/200909415395364?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15395364_Tsunami_Hits_American_Samoa_A fter_Earthquake_In_Pacific%2C_Measuring_8.0_On_Ric hter_Scale
10:50pm UK, Tuesday September 29, 2009
A tsunami has hit the Samoan islands - killing at least 14 people, according to reports.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2009/Sep/Week4/15395401.jpg Earthquake epicentre was southwest of American Samoa
It was sparked by a powerful earthquake about 100 miles away in the Pacific Ocean.
The quake, which measured 8.0 on the Richter scale, caused waves measuring around 1.5-metres tall to strike Western Samoa and American Samoa.
Five tsunami waves hit American Samoa and 14 people were killed there, local reports said.
Villages in Western Samoa are thought to have been "wiped out" and people have been reported missing, a journalist for Radio Polynesia told Radio New Zealand.
A police spokeswoman in Western Samoa said the tsunami had killed an unknown number of people on the island.
She said: "I can confirm there is damage, I can confirm there are deaths and I can confirm there are casualties. I cannot say any more at the moment."
In New Zealand, authorities ordered people in low-lying coastal homes and camp sites to evacuate.
In Western Samoa, New Zealander Graeme Ansell said the beach village of Sau Sau Beach Fale had been levelled, while in the capital, Apia, families fled their homes for higher ground.
There were reports of severe shaking that lasted for up to three minutes.
Power cuts have been reported and students have apparently been seen ransacking a petrol station and a convenience store.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu, Hawaii, issued a tsunami warning for American Samoa and other areas of the Pacific, including New Zealand.
A tsunami watch was posted elsewhere, including Hawaii and the Marshall Islands.
The epicentre of the quake was 120 miles southwest of American Samoa and at a depth of 11.2 miles, said the US Geological Survey.
The quake happened at 6:48am (local time).
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Tsunami-Hits-American-Samoa-After-Earthquake-In-Pacific-Measuring-80-On-Richter-Scale/Article/200909415395364?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15395364_Tsunami_Hits_American_Samoa_A fter_Earthquake_In_Pacific%2C_Measuring_8.0_On_Ric hter_Scale