Aardbeving (8.3) en tsunami bij Samoa in de Grote Oceaan.

quote:

massive earthquake struck the South Pacific on Wednesday morning, according to officials. Tsunami warnings are in effect, but there was no immediate word on possible damage or casualties.

The earthquake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 7.9, struck 127 miles south-southwest of Apia, Samoa and about 139 miles southwest of Pago Pago on American Samoa. The tremor, which struck at 6.45 a.m. local time, had a depth of about 50 miles, making it a fairly deep earthquake. Shallow earthquakes often tend to cause more damage, and increase the risk of a destructive earthquake.

Tsunami warnings were immediately issued for American Samoa, Samoa, Niue, Wallis-Futuna, Tokelau, Cook Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Kermadec Islands, Fiji, Howland-Baker, Jarvis Island, New Zealand, French Polynesia and Palmyra Island.

A tsunami watch is also in effect for Vanuatu, Nauru, Marshall Island, Solomon Islands, Johnston Island, New Caledonia, Kosrae, Papua New Guinea, Hawaii, Pohnpei, Wake Island, Pitcairn, Midway Island.

"It is not known that a tsunami was generated. This warning is based only on the earthquake evaluation. An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours," a bulletin from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center read. No tsunami warnings were issued for the United States.

A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 struck exactly 30 minutes after the initial quake, at 7.15 a.m. local time.