Why was there both Earthquakes and a tsunamis in Samoa today?”
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (AP) — Towering tsunami waves spawned by a powerful earthquake swept ashore on Samoa and American Samoa early Tuesday, flattening villages, killing at least 34 people and leaving dozens of workers missing at devastated National Park Service facilities. Cars and people were swept out to sea by the fast-churning waters as survivors fled to high ground, where they remained huddled hours later. Hampered by power and communications outages, officials struggled to assess the casualties and damage. USA TODAY GRAPHIC: Undersea quakes spawn tsunamis The quake, with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3, struck around dawn about 20 miles below to ocean floor, 120 miles from American Samoa, a U.S. territory that is home to 65,000 people, and 125 miles from Samoa. Mike Reynolds, superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa, was quoted as saying four tsunami waves 15 to 20 feet high roared ashore soon afterward, reaching up to a mile inland. Holly Bundock, spokeswoman f
An 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck off American Samoa Tuesday triggering a three-metre tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii confirmed, demolishing villages on low-lying islands in the Pacific state of Samoa.The quake, originally estimated at a magnitude of 7.9, was upgraded to the level of a “great quake” and aftershocks were continuing, Radio New Zealand reported. The earthquake’s epicentre was located about 204 km southwest of the remote Pacific island and it struck at a depth of 85 km.”Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated. It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicentre and could also be a threat to more distant coasts,” the centre said. A tsunami warning was in effect for American Samoa, Samoa, Cook Islands, Tonga and Fiji, among others in the South Pacific archipelago.A tsunami watch was issued for islands farther from the epicentre, including Hawaii and Papua New Guinea.A spokesman for the national disaster office of Samoa t
Earthquakes and tsunamis, such as the powerful quake that occurred today in the South Pacific and wave it generated, can often go hand-in-hand. Tsunamis, which can travel over the ocean surface from many hundreds of miles, can be generated when chunks of the planet’s crust separate under the seafloor, causing an earthquake. Today’s temblor was put at magnitude 8.0 by the U.S. Geological Survey. The potential height of the tsunami is not yet known. Here’s what happens: One slab of lifting crust essentially rapidly acts as a giant paddle, transferring its energy to the water. Tsunamis can also be caused by volcanic eruptions, underwater detonations and even landslides. Exactly what caused today’s tsunami is not yet clear. And officials have been scrambling to issue watches and warnings and estimate what might occur.
