Not many details on this yet, but a huge earthquake (8.3) hit right between American Samoa and Samoa this morning, and sent tsunami waves on shore that have killed an unspecified number of people.
I know several people in American Samoa, and have not been able to get in contact with them. I went there once in 2000, and as I recall, most people live along the shoreline. I was seriously considering taking a job there earlier this summer. There are about 60,000 people living there.
This quote from an article on msnbc doesn't sound good:
I know several people in American Samoa, and have not been able to get in contact with them. I went there once in 2000, and as I recall, most people live along the shoreline. I was seriously considering taking a job there earlier this summer. There are about 60,000 people living there.
This quote from an article on msnbc doesn't sound good:
... Holly Bundock, spokeswoman for the National Park Service's Pacific West Region in Oakland, Calif., said "I would say we're alarmed," adding the service had heard from Mike Reynolds, superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa.
Reynolds told a dispatch operator that four tsunami waves, each 15 to 20 feet high, reached half-mile to mile inland on island of Tutuila, where Pago Pago is.
"The National Park of American Samoa visitor center and its offices appear to be destroyed completely," Bundock said.
Reynolds reported deaths but had no confirmation of numbers, she said. "He's completely cut off from the rest of the island," Bundock said.