8.0 magnitude quake generates tsunami off Samoa islands

A powerful 8.0 magnitude earthquake in the Pacific off the Samoa islands region generated a tsunami and waves of more than five feet had already been observed, US government agencies said yesterday.

An official of the US National Park Service said there had been deaths in American Samoa, but there was no word on how many people had died.

A tsunami was observed at Apia, Western Samoa, and at Pago Pago, American Samoa, according to the West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, a branch of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The waves at Pago Pago were 1.57 metres above normal sea level, according to the Pacific Western Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii. The centre earlier issued a tsunami warning for New Zealand, American Samoa and other small Pacific islands.

American Samoa is a tiny US territory that lies about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. It is home to about 65,000 people.

Holly Bundock, speaking for the National Park Service's Pacific West Region in Oakland California, said: "I would say we're alarmed," adding the service had heard from Mike Reynolds, superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa.

Mr Reynolds told a Yellowstone dispatch operator that four tsunami waves, each 4.6 to six metres high, reaching half-mile 0.8 to 1.6 kilometres inland on island of Tutuila, where Pago Pago is.

"The National Park of American Samoa visitor centre and its offices appear to be destroyed completely," Ms Bundock said.

Mr Reynolds reported deaths but had no confirmation of numbers, she said. "He's completely cut off from the rest of the island," Ms Bundock said.

In the island nation of Western Samoa, some residents told Radio New Zealand they had felt a big jolt and were recommended by authorities to move to higher ground.

"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 Pacific warning centre said.

Nathan Becker, an official at the centre, told MSNBC a tsunami wave can dissipate or grow larger and go all the way across the ocean. "This is why we've issued a warning for a wide area," he said.

The epicenter of the quake was located 120 miles (190 km) southwest of American Samoa, a remote Pacific island, the US Geological Survey. The USGS earlier said the quake measured 7.9 magnitude. It struck at a depth of 18 kilometres.

Hawaii was monitoring the situation. Chevron Corp said it was monitoring the tsunami threat to Hawaii, where the company has a 54,000 barrel per day (bpd) refinery near Honolulu.