Washington/Wellington, Sep 30 (DPA) An 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck off American Samoa Tuesday triggering a three-metre tsunami, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii confirmed.
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 told Radio New Zealand that there were no immediate reports of injuries, but several houses had cracked walls.
“It caused a lot of panic to most of the country this morning, as children are preparing to go to school and people … to work,” a correspondent in Apia told Radio New Zealand.
