Pacific tsunami four storeys high (46 feet) when it slammed into Samoa's coast after 8.3 mag earthquake on September 29th in the Tonga Trench

On September 29 a magnitude 8.3 earthquake occurred in the Tonga Trench, 190 kilometres from Apia. It generated the tsunami which resulted in the deaths of 180 people in American Samoa, Samoa and Tonga.

New Zealand scientists have worked out that the Pacific's killer tsunami was nearly four storeys high when it slammed into Samoa's coast.

Conflicting eyewitness accounts have never made it clear how many waves there were and what their heights were.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and GNS Science have carried out field work the tsunami, releasing their data today.

"The Samoa tsunami consisted of two to three significant waves; the second wave was said by witnesses to be larger," the statement said.

"The delay between the earthquake and the arrival of the first wave was about 10 minutes in Samoa and 20 minutes in American Samoa.

"The maximum height reached by the tsunami on the land was 14 metres above mean sea level in Samoa and 10 metres in American Samoa.

"The furthest inland the waves reached was over 700 metres from the shore."

At one of the worst hit areas, Lepa in the Aleipata district, eyewitness Karen Niumata gave Stuff.co.nz a dramatic account of the wave.

"We saw the reef suddenly, and we saw all the rocks were shiny, and then the wave filled the sky...

"The wave, it reached the sky, oh my god, we ran.

"We thought we would die."

Source:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/3128083/Pacific-tsunami-height-of-a-four-storey-building

RELATED:


http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6943881.ece

USGS | 6.2 magnitude earthquake hits SOUTH OF TONGA - November 2, 2009

MAP

6.2

2009/11/02 10:47:13

-24.124

-175.135

10.0

SOUTH OF TONGA

6.2 magnitude earthquake hits Samoa Island Regions - 185 km (115 miles) ENE of Hihifo, Tonga - Monday, October 19, 2009 at 11:49:37 AM at epicenter

Update time = Mon Oct 19 23:16:19 UTC 2009

	MAG	UTC DATE-TIME y/m/d h:m:s	LAT deg	LON deg	DEPTH km	Region
MAP	6.2	2009/10/19 22:49:38	-15.277	-172.178	10.0	SAMOA ISLANDS REGION

LIST OF EARTHQUAKES ON THE ABOVE MAP

AG	UTC DATE-TIME y/m/d h:m:s	LAT deg	LON deg	DEPTH km	Region
MAP	6.2	2009/10/19 22:49:37	-15.277	-172.178	10.0	SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAP	5.8	2009/10/19 07:41:42	-15.366	-172.944	35.0	SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAP	4.7	2009/10/18 23:00:23	-15.382	-172.078	88.0	SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAP	5.2	2009/10/18 12:02:33	-16.419	-173.204	10.0	TONGA
MAP	5.9	2009/10/17 10:45:27	-16.332	-171.964	10.0	SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAP	4.8	2009/10/17 01:47:19	-15.031	-173.782	10.0	TONGA
MAP	4.7	2009/10/17 01:42:10	-14.713	-173.958	10.0	SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAP	6.3	2009/10/14 18:00:21	-14.945	-174.806	10.0	SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAP	5.1	2009/10/14 07:59:00	-15.270	-173.167	10.0	TONGA
MAP	4.9	2009/10/14 00:00:14	-14.825	-173.057	10.0	SAMOA ISLANDS REGION

6.1 magnitude earthquake hits Samoa Island Region - 110 km (65 miles) NE of Hihifo, Tonga - Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 08:41 PM at epicenter

MAP

6.1

2009/10/19 07:41:43

-15.366

-172.944

35.0

SAMOA ISLANDS REGION

6.3 magnitude earthquake hits TONGA - 242 km (150 miles) NNE (18°) from Neiafu, Tonga - Friday, October 02, 2009 at 02:07:39 PM at epicenter

Update time = Fri Oct 2 1:26:51 UTC 2009

	MAG	UTC DATE-TIME y/m/d h:m:s	LAT deg	LON deg	DEPTH km	Region
MAP	6.3	2009/10/02 01:07:40	-16.579	-173.274	10.0	TONGA

BBC.co.uk | South Pacific tsunami resulting from 8.3 magnitude earthquake kills more than 100 people

President Obama has declared the tsunami in American Samoa a major disaster

A tsunami in the South Pacific has caused widespread destruction on the islands of Samoa and American Samoa.

The 8.3 magnitude earthquake struck at 1748 GMT on Tuesday 29 September

At least 77 people were reported dead in Samoa, more than 25 in American Samoa and at least six in Tonga, on the island of Niuatoputatu.

Thousands of homes have been destroyed.

New Zealand has sent a plane to Samoa to help search for survivors, and says it is ready to air-lift supplies.

8.0 magnitude earthquakes hit Samoa Island Regions -180 km (110 miles) ENE of Hihifo, Tonga - September 29, 2009

NOW REMOVED MAP	8.3	2009/09/29 17:48:15	-15.300	-171.000	33.0	SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAP	7.9	2009/09/29 17:48:14	-15.554	-172.141	35.0	SAMOA ISLANDS REGION

Earthquake Details

Magnitude	7.9
Date-Time	Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 17:48:14 UTC Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 06:48:14 AM at epicenter Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
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

Recovering 93 bodies from the Tonga ferry that sank over a week ago will cost millions to recover

BENEATH THE WAVES: The first image of the Tonga ferry that sank with 93 bodies still believed to be on board, has been released by New Zealand divers.

Recovering at least 93 bodies from the sunken ferry Princess Ashika would cost over $25 million, putting it beyond the Tongan government budget and exceeding New Zealand's annual aid vote to the kingdom, experts say.

Political insiders in Nuku'alofa say that if the bodies are left on the wreck, the royal appointed government could find itself in the same kind of danger that saw the capital largely destroyed in riots in November 2006.

The 37-year-old Princess Ashika sank a week ago after sailing from Nuku'alofa with at least 149 people aboard. Two bodies and 54 survivors were found while 93 people, including 33 women and 10 children, were trapped aboard.....