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, 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 told Radio New Zealand that there were no immediate reports of injuries, but several houses had cracked walls. Police in Samoa evacuated people living in coastal areas to high ground.
Civil Defence authorities in New Zealand issued a tsunami alert and put emergency services on standby. People were told to continue listening to the radio for further advice.
“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, the capital of Samoa, told Radio New Zealand.
