8.3 New Zealand Quake, Tsunami?

A New Zealand 7.9 (UPDATE: 8.3 Magnitude) magnitude earthquake near American Samoa and Tonga has created at least one 10-15 foot wave, triggering a tsunami warning for New Zealand. At least 87 confirmed dead, with unknown injured, as they have not reached many coastal villages yet. But the numbers are rising, primarily in American Samoa. NPR’s reporting “An emergency worker in the capital city of Pago Pago told NPR that a wave 10 to 15 feet tall swept through the harbor there a few minutes later.”. Earthquake and tsunami details, with links to latest NOAA tsunami and earthquake trackers:

NOAA Earthquake Tracker Details:

Magnitude: 7.9
Date-Time: Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 06:48:14 AM at epicenter
Location: 15.554°S, 172.141°W
Depth : 35 km (21.7 miles) set by location program
Region: SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
Distances: 180 km (110 miles) ENE of Hihifo, Tonga
200 km (125 miles) SSW of APIA, Samoa
700 km (435 miles) NNE of NUKU’ALOFA, Tonga
2685 km (1670 miles) NNE of Auckland, New Zealand
Location Uncertainty: horizontal +/- 11.9 km (7.4 miles); depth fixed by location program

[Link]

NOAA Tsunami Watch Details: [latest details from Tsunami Watch]

TSUNAMI BULLETIN NUMBER 002
PACIFIC TSUNAMI WARNING CENTER/NOAA/NWS
ISSUED AT 1856Z 29 SEP 2009

THIS BULLETIN APPLIES TO AREAS WITHIN AND BORDERING THE PACIFIC
OCEAN AND ADJACENT SEAS…EXCEPT ALASKA…BRITISH COLUMBIA…
WASHINGTON…OREGON AND CALIFORNIA.

… A TSUNAMI WARNING AND WATCH ARE IN EFFECT …

A TSUNAMI WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR

AMERICAN SAMOA / SAMOA / NIUE / WALLIS-FUTUNA / TOKELAU /
COOK ISLANDS / TONGA / TUVALU / KIRIBATI / KERMADEC IS / FIJI /
HOWLAND-BAKER / JARVIS IS. / NEW ZEALAND / FR. POLYNESIA /
PALMYRA IS. / VANUATU / NAURU / MARSHALL IS. / SOLOMON IS.

A TSUNAMI WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR

JOHNSTON IS. / NEW CALEDONIA / KOSRAE / PAPUA NEW GUINEA /
HAWAII / POHNPEI / WAKE IS. / PITCAIRN / MIDWAY IS. / CHUUK /
AUSTRALIA

AN EARTHQUAKE HAS OCCURRED WITH THESE PRELIMINARY PARAMETERS
NOTE THE MAGNITUDE UPGRADE TO 8.3

ORIGIN TIME – 1748Z 29 SEP 2009
COORDINATES – 15.3 SOUTH 171.0 WEST
DEPTH – 33 KM
LOCATION – SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAGNITUDE – 8.3

MEASUREMENTS OR REPORTS OF TSUNAMI WAVE ACTIVITY

GAUGE LOCATION LAT LON TIME AMPL PER
——————- —– —— —– ————— —–
APIA UPOLU WS 13.8S 171.8W 1832Z 0.70M / 2.3FT 08MIN
PAGO PAGO AS 14.3S 170.7W 1812Z 1.57M / 5.1FT 04MIN

[Link]

The New Zealand quake was in the Pacific Ocean about 125 miles southwest of American Samoa.

The U.S. Geological Service says the earthquake occurred at a depth of about 21.7 miles into the earth’s crust. The earthquake happened around 1:48 ET.

samoa tsunami video report and footage:

More video walkthrough of tsunami damage:

From NPR: [link]

NPR’s Richard Harris has this report for the network’s newscast:

… An emergency worker in the capital city of Pago Pago told NPR that a wave 10 to 15 feet tall swept through the harbor there a few minutes later.

The emergency management office says there do not appear to be any casualties as a result of the wave, at least in the city of Pago Pago.

School children were sent to high ground as a precaution. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says instruments also detected a tsunami wave.

Scientists are now calculating how big it will be. The wave is likely to spread throughout the South Pacific and reach New Zealand. If it were to get as far as Hawaii, it would arrive in about four hours from now. It is not expected to reach the coast of North America.