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Samoa Tsunami : Huge Earthquake In Central Pacific

Wednesday, 30 September 2009, 9:16 am
Article: The Scoop Team

Samoa Tsunami: Huge Earthquake In Central Pacific

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Pacific.Scoop: Out-Of-Hours Tongan Tsunami Silence Troubles Nation In Pacific Scare Tonga’s tsunami alert system was put to the test again as another major 8.0 quake rocked Vanuatu today, alarming neighbouring island states. More>>

ALSO:

Too Much Awesome: Top Musicians Join Forces For Samoa

After the tragic events in Samoa last week, a group of top New Zealand entertainers have rallied together for a massive benefit concert on Monday 19th October 2009 at the Vector Arena in Auckland. More>>

ALSO:

Samoa: Stories From The Relief Effort

"First impressions with landing were “what tsunami?” with beautiful landscape and beaches and everything seemingly business as usual. But this quickly changed with arriving at the hospital and coming across six or seven containers, which are apparently filled with bodies..." More>>

ALSO:

Pacific.Scoop: Samoan Tsunami - Tragedy, Loss And Extraordinary Heroism

When I first arrived in Apia, there were no signs of the devastation. The capital was buzzing as usual. Driving south the road was full of cars and pick-ups laden with bags of clothing, bread and bottled water. More>>

ALSO:

Tsunami Update: Helicopters Deployed, PM To Samoa

Image + Audio: The New Zealand Government is contributing one million dollars to the Samoan and Tongan relief efforts, which Bill English describes as the beginning of an ongoing financial commitment to help the tsunami ravaged region.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully will head to Samoa on Friday, and Prime Minister John Key will arrive in Apia on Saturday. More>>

ALSO:

NZ Preparedness: Minister Calls For Civil Defence Review

Civil Defence Minister John Carter has asked for a review into how the Civil Defence and Emergency Management ministry deals with tsunami alerts. More>>

ALSO:

Scoop Audio: Government Responds To Samoan Tsunami

An air force Orion is on the way to Samoa and will arrive in the next few hours, leaving the crew a few hours of daylight to search for people washed out to sea.

A Hercules is preparing to depart from Auckland within the next 12 hours. It will carry medical supplies. The Government is talking to Samoan authorities about what else is needed and can be carried on the plane. ... More>> Aftermath video from Samoa courtesy of Pacific.scoop

TV3 Video

International Reactions:

Other Earthquakes:

Ongoing Disasters: NZ Based Relief Worker Worried For Family

New Zealand- based Filipina, Thelma Cruz, is worried for family members and community partners who have been affected by the heaviest floods to have hit the Philippines in more than 40 years. More>>

ALSO:

Business Response:

NewsWire.co.nz Link: Tsunami ‘hits’ Germany Before New Zealand

I was probably one of the first people in New Zealand to know about today’s tsunami – and I heard about it from a friend in Germany. It was shortly before 7am when a text on my cellphone woke me, saying: “Saw on TV there’s tsunami warning for NZ. Are you ok?” More>>

Pacific.Scoop: Huge Tsunami Sweeps Many To Their Death In American Samoa And Samoa

A huge tsunami struck American Samoa and Samoa early day, causing many deaths in both Pacific island groups. More>>

ALSO:

geonet tsunami guageNew Zealand: Tsunami Warning Is Now Cancelled, Downgraded

* The tsunami warning is now cancelled and downgraded to a National Advisory – Potential Threat to NZ. * National advice was for up to a 1.0m wave at East Cape at around 10.22 am. * Hawke’s Bay Civil Defence Emergency Management advises residents to continue to be cautious. Public are asked to keep away from beaches and river mouths. More>>

ALSO:

NZ Political Reaction:

Tsunami Wave Expected In Coromandel 9.45

A huge earthquake - preliminarily estimated at 8.3 on the richter scale (now estimated to be 8.0 - has occurred in the Central Pacific near south of Samoa. The earthquake struck at 6.48am NZT. A Tsunami has since struck Samoa sweeping away houses and cars. Two people have been reported dead in American Samoa so far.

In Samoa reports of deaths and devastation have started to come in including people being swept out to sea.

A Radio New Zealand reporter in Tauranga has noticed nothing untoward in the Tauranga harbour as at 10am NZT. The Tsunami theoretically should have reached NZ by now.

Residents in low-lying areas of the Coromandel coast have been urged to move to higher ground NOW because of a potential one-metre high tsunami due to hit shortly (at approx 9.45am NZ time). More>>

According to a spokesman for the Pacific Tsunami Warning center speaking on National Radio the Tsunami which hits New Zealand is likely to be small. However people should still stay away from low lying areas. However the Tsunami warning has now been lifted for Hawaii.

Tsunami warnings remain in force for most of the rest of the Pacific.

Wellington City Civil Defence Controller Mike Mendonca says while the risk of a tsunami is thought to be low, people in low-lying areas near the coast should stay tuned to radio stations and be prepared to immediately evacuate if warned by authorities. More>>

The map below shows estimated times of arrival of the Tsunami.


Click for big version- Source URL

Foreign Aid: NZ Ready To Assist After Samoan Earthquake/tsunami

New Zealand stands ready to assist Samoa and the wider Pacific region following the earthquake this morning and reports of a tsunami, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said.

“New Zealand’s diplomatic missions throughout the Pacific are in contact with local authorities to gather as much information as possible on the situation and how New Zealand may be able to assist,” Mr McCully said.

More>>

REFRESH THIS PAGE FOR BREAKING NEWS UPDATES AND LINKS

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NZ Emergency Response:

Earthquake And Tsunami Media Coverage - Links

TV3 Video:

Stuff has a report from Fairfax’s Pacific reporter Michael Field with maps showing which parts of Samoa were struck by the tsunami. The story has first hand reports describing a quick wave that flattened villages. More >>

One News has breaking reports from Samoa including a phone report from One News camera man Rico Tupai in Apia. He relays reports of damage in the South East of the island, high waves, and reports of loss of life. More >>

NewstalkZB is reporting that disaster response workers from Samoa’s National Disaster Centre are trying to confirm how many have been killed. They report between six and ten people unaccounted for. Emergency workers are travelling around the country trying to get people out of damaged buildings and move them to higher ground. More >>

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Earthquake and Tsunami Technical Page Links:

USGS Earthquake advisory page
Theoretical P Wave pPropagation Times Chart and Map

US Geological Survey Information


Date-Time • Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 17:48:11 UTC
• Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 06:48:11 AM at epicenter
• Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location 15.558°S, 172.073°W
Depth 18 km (11.2 miles) set by location program
Region SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
Distances 185 km (115 miles) ENE of Hihifo, Tonga
195 km (125 miles) S of APIA, Samoa
705 km (435 miles) NNE of NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga
2700 km (1670 miles) NNE of Auckland, New Zealand
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 6.6 km (4.1 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters NST=293, Nph=293, Dmin=>999 km, Rmss=1.07 sec, Gp= 32°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=8
Source • USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID us2009mdbi

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