Tsunami hits American Samoa, West Coast of U.S. OK
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (AP) — A tsunami swept into Pago Pago in American Samoa shortly after an earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.9 shook the Pacific area.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or structural damage.
Fili Sagapolutele, who works at the Samoa News, says water flowed inland about 100 yards before receding, leaving cars stuck in 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 elsewhere, including Hawaii and the Marshall Islands.
The temblor hit at 10:48 a.m. Tuesday PDT midway between Samoa and American Samoa. In the Samoan capital, Apia, families fled their homes for higher ground amid severe shaking that lasted for up to three minutes.
Federal experts say a magnitude-7.9 quake in the South Pacific is not expected to produce a tsunami along the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia or Alaska.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's West Coast and Alaska Tsunamia Warning Center says it was a strong earthquake but no tsunami warning, watch or advisory is in effect.
Tsunami awareness is much higher on the West Coast since a 2004 quake off Indonesia spawned a surge that killed more than 200,000 people. Signs pointing out tsunami evacuation routes are now common in coastal California.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
