Earthquake strikes Samoa

An earthquake recording a magnitude of 8.0 struck in the Samoa Islands region, just south of Samoa’s capital, Apia. The impact was felt in Samoa itself and American Samoa, a nearby US territory. The earthquake triggered a series of tsunamis that caused significant property and casualty damage. Risk Management Solutions said both islands have many areas lying just a few feet above sea level. In American Samoa, waves as high as 5.1 feet (1.6m) were recorded while tsunami wave heights peaked at 2.3 feet in Apia, although waves were reported to be up to 20 feet in Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa. Smaller tsunamis were reported further away in New Zealand, Japan, Hawaii, California and Oregon, but damage and fatalities have been largely confined to the Samoan islands.