Tsunami kills 34 people in the Pacific Ocean

The terrible waves caused by a powerful earthquake in the southern Pacific Ocean attacked coastal villages on the Samoa Islands yesterday. At least 34 people were killed.

BBC said, the seismic intensity of up to 8.3 on the Richter scale occurred on 17h48 on 29/9 GMT. Its epicenter was about 32 km deep on the ocean floor and about 190 km from the Samoa Islands. Some people say that the earthquake lasts about two to three minutes. It causes waves as high as 4.5 m on some coasts.

Expert of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, looking at charts on computers at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center on the coast of Ewa, Hawaii, USA.(Photo: Reuters)

The Samoa Islands consist of two separate entities: the independent state of Samoa and American Samoa (US territory with a population of 65,000).

Eni Faleomavaega, American Samoa's representative in the US parliament, said thousands of people have lost their homes. " Some areas of the Samoa archipelago are just over 1 meter above sea level. So the level of property damage is huge. The cars are capsized all over the place ," Faleomavaega said.

According to the AP, tsunamis have swept many people and cars to the sea. The survivors tried to run to the high ground and stuck there for hours. Officials have struggled in an effort to assess the loss of life and property due to power grid and telecommunication system shutdown.

A street in American Samoa's Fagatogo village sank in the water after a tsunami on September 29.(Photo: AP)

Graeme Ansell, a New Zealand citizen, was present in a coastal Samoa village when the earthquake struck and saw a tsunami destroying the village. He told the national radio station New Zealand: "It was very fast. The whole village of Sau Sau Beach Fale was wiped out in the blink of an eye. There were no houses standing. We ran up the hills. nearby, a villager broke his leg while running.

Mase Akapo, a hydro-meteorological expert at the National Weather Service of American Samoa, said at least 14 of the country's people and 20 of Samoa's people were killed by the tsunami. According to Akapo, at least three aftershocks with a magnitude of 5.6 on the Richter scale occurred after the earthquake.

Dr. Lemalu Fiu of a hospital in Samoa's capital Apia said the death toll could rise. Apia city is quiet because schools and offices are closed.

Diagram of where the tsunami occurred.(Photo: Reuters)