Tsunami and Earthquake UPDATE!!!Samoa

A massive earthquake struck the South Pacific on Wednesday morning, according to officials, generating a destructive tsunami that struck at least several islands and killed scores of people. Tsunami warnings have since been canceled, and the exact scale of the destruction is still unclear.
The earthquake, which had a preliminary magnitude of 8.0, struck 125 miles south of Apia, Samoa and about 139 miles southwest of Pago Pago on American Samoa. The tremor, which struck at 6.48 a.m. local time, had a depth of about 11.2 miles, making it a shallow earthquake. Shallow earthquakes often tend to cause more damage, and increase the risk of a destructive tsunami.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center immediately issued a tsunami warning for American Samoa, Samoa, Niue, Wallis-Futuna, Tokelau, Cook Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Kermadec Islands, Fiji, Howland-Baker, Jarvis Island, New Zealand, French Polynesia, Palmyra Island, Vanuatu, Nauru, Marshall Island, the Solomon Islands, Johnston Island, New Caledonia, Kosrae, Papua New Guinea, Pohnpei and Wake Island but canceled them several hours later.
Hours after the earthquake, a tsunami advisory remains in effect for Hawaii and the California-Mexico border to the Oregon-Washington border. Click here to read more on the U.S. tsunami advisory. A tsunami advisory is also in effect for the entire Japanese coast, where a tsunami may reach a height of about 0.5 meter.
Samoa and American Samoa, both located about 130 miles from the earthquake epicenter, were the worst hit places. In the harbor of Pago Pago, on American Samoa, one tsunami reached at least a height of 13.1 foot (4 meter), according to a spokeswoman for the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. She said the first floor of at least one government building was inundated with water following the tsunamis.
A spokeswoman for American Samoa Governor Togiola Tulafono told BNO News that some villages on the island were "destroyed," and said there were reports of fatalities. The spokeswoman said those reports had not yet been confirmed.
Local KSBS-FM radio on American Samoa reported that at least 19 people were killed there, and other media estimated the death toll as high as 40. Some witnesses described one of the tsunamis to be as high as 30 feet (9.1 meter).
"Based on all available data a tsunami may have been generated by this earthquake that could be destructive on coastal areas even far from the epicenter," a bulletin from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center read when tsunami warnings were still in effect. Hours later, the exact extent of the destruction was still not clear.
A tsunami with a height of at least 10 foot (3 meter) also hit the island of Samoa, causing fatalities and severe destruction. A spokesman for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said a number of Australians were among the injured, but did not know how many. "Australia stands ready to provide assistance," he said. He advised concerned relatives of Australians on Samoa to call +61 2 6261 3305.
U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Lt. John Titchen said it will be sending a C-130 plane to American Samoa on Tuesday evening, which will also transport American Samoa Governor Tulafono, who was in Honolulu when the earthquake happened. A spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department said it had no reports of American casualties from the earthquake or tsunami.
Meanwhile, South Korea's Foreign Ministry told the Yonhap News Agency that at least two citizens were killed on American Samoa, and added that one girl remained missing following the disaster.
The New Zealand Ministry of Civil Defense and Emergency Management said a small tsunami, of about 40 centimeters, hit several areas on the coast but no damage was reported.
Shaking near the epicenter reportedly lasted up to three minutes.
A number of aftershocks also hit the area after the initial earthquake. "We are seeing a lot of activity in the area," a spokesman for the United States Geological Survey said, who also warned that more stronger aftershocks should be expected. The strongest aftershock struck at 12.45 p.m. local time, about 150 miles south-southwest of Samoa's Apia, and had a preliminary magnitude of 5.9.

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