Tsunami heading to S.Pacific?

[Palmə häl′ik]

Brace yourselves.

[John in Andalucia]

..yep

51 mins ago

"APIA, Samoa – The U.S. Geological Survey says a powerful 7.9-magnitude earthquake has struck in the South Pacific between Samoa and American Samoa. A tsunami alert has been issued for the region.

The temblor hit at 6:48 a.m. Tuesday (1748 GMT) midway between the two island groups. In the Samoan capital of Apia, families fled their homes amid severe shaking that lasted for up to three minutes. Local media reported people were fleeing to higher ground.

The USGS said the quake struck 20 miles (35 kilometers) below the ocean floor and was 120 miles (190 kilometers) from American Samoa and 125 miles (200 kilometers) from Samoa.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a general alert for the South Pacific region, from American Samoa to New Zealand."

[PalmatierMeg]

Just picked this up. New Zealand also included:

Tsunami warning! A tsunami has been generated in the Pacific ocean after a huge earthquake measuring 8.3 struck 120 miles southwest of American Samoa.

A tsunami warning was issued for New Zealand and the other small Pacific islands such as Fiji and Tonga.

The earthquake is 10 times the size of the earthquake that struck San Francisco in 1989.

A tsunami 3-4 meters in hieght has reportedly struck Pago Pago, where water has encroached up to 100 yards. The bay of Pago Pago is reportedly littered with automobiles.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, a branch of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, issued the warning after the quake struck at a depth of 20.5 miles.

A tsunami watch was in effect for Hawaii, Papua New Guinea and other small Pacific islands.

[PalmatierMeg]

Also from Associated Press 6 minutes ago:

Tsunami hits American Samoa after 7.9 earthquake; watch issued for Hawaii

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Tuesday, September 29th 2009, 3:21 PM

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa - A tsunami swept into Pago Pago, American Samoa, shortly after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.9 erupted in the area.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or structural damage Tuesday.

Fili Sagapolutele, who works at the Samoa News, says the water flowed inland about 100 yards before receding, leaving some cars stuck in the mud.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu issued a tsunami warning for American Samoa and other areas of the Pacific, including New Zealand. A tsunami watch was posted for other areas, including Hawaii and the Marshall Islands.

American Samoa is a U.S. territory located in the South Pacific, about 2,300 miles south of Hawaii

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2009...l#ixzz0SWkCjdDn

[Palmə häl′ik]

I heard 5ft wave on A.Samoa already, near the airport flooding a few vehicles already...

[John in Andalucia]

Here's a collection of photos from Samoa: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8281956.stm

[Walter John]

Special report on TV in a minute, many deaths, much devastation.

[Kim]

Didn't one of our forum members visit Samoa recently? Sad to read the news of the deaths and destruction.

[DoomsDave]

Didn't one of our forum members visit Samoa recently? Sad to read the news of the deaths and destruction.

John Strazich went there to live a while back, then returned, if my memory serves, sometimes last fall. We talked on the phone a bit.

Things are ugly down there, no doubt about it.

[simona]

The temblor hit at 6:48 a.m. Tuesday (1748 GMT) midway between the two island groups. In the Samoan capital of Apia, families fled their homes amid severe shaking that lasted for up to three minutes. Local media reported people were fleeing to higher ground.

A three minutes shaking That must have been a nightmare. I've been through a 7.4 Richter temblor for about one minute on the 6th floor and it was like it was never going to stop. I'm still shaking just at the thought of all the death and injured under the collapsed buildings.

[PalmGuyWC]

There is an ugly side to human nature. I have a friend who has friends who owned a small resort hotel near the water in American Samoa. The people at the hotel had little warning about the Tsunami about to sweep in, and barely escaped with their lives. One of their hotel guest drowned and the hotel was leveled. They said the water had hardly subsided before the natives swept in and stole everything in sight that was salvageable, including what was once a great art collection.

Dick

[John Case]

Another major quake in Vanuatu (7.8). Tsunami warning for Hilo @ 6:50 pm local time.

Good luck, all!

[bgl]

Tsunami warning for Hawaii was cancelled a little while ago.