Samoan Islands Struck by 8.0 Magnitude Earthquake, Tsunami Flattens at Least One Village

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The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale struck in the Samoan Islands region Tuesday. A tsunami warning was issued for a wide area of the southern Pacific after the earthquake struck at about 6:50 a.m. local time. The center said that a 1.6-meter wave was observed in Pago Pago in America Samoa and a 0.7-meter wave in Apia, Samoa. There have been 14 known fatalities in the wake of the earthquake that sent terrified residents fleeing for higher ground as a tsunami swept ashore, flattening at least one village.

The U.S. Geologoical Survey said earthquake struck about 200 kilometers south-southwest of Apia, Samoa, and 180 km east-northeast of Hihifo, Tonga, at a depth of 35 km. Based on all available data, the tsunami warning center said a tsunami may have been generated by this earthquake and it could be "destructive on coastal areas even far from the epicenter."