7.9 magnitude quake hits off American Samoa

• Tsunami reportedly hits capital after temblor centered southwest of islands
• NBC News and news services
• updated 3:45 p.m. ET, Tues., Sept . 29, 2009

 

WASHINGTON - A tsunami struck the capital of American Samoa on Tuesday after an offshore earthquake that U.S. government agencies said registered 7.9 magnitude.

 

There were no immediate reports of injuries or structural damage.

 

Fili Sagapolutele, who works at the Samoa News, says water flowed inland about 100 yards before receding, leaving cars stuck in mud.

 

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, a branch of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, issued a tsunami warning for Hawaii, Papua New Guinea and other Pacific Islands after the quake hit about 120 miles southwest of the remote Pacific island of American Samoa. It struck at a depth of 20.5 miles.

 

The bulletin estimated a tsunami, if powerful enough to reach Hawaii, would reach the island state approximately 1 p.m. local time (7 p.m. ET).

 

The warning was issued because a quake of this magnitude had the power to generate a destructive tsunami, the warning center said.

 

In 2004, a 9.0 quake in the Indian Ocean generated a powerful tsunami that killed tens of thousands people in Asia.

 

The representative from American Samoa to the U.S. Congress, Eni Faleomavaega, told NBC News that quake hit between the North Marianas Islands and American Samoa, creating 10 to 15- foot waves in populated low-lying areas like Pago Pago Bay.

 

"Cars were seen floating," the congressman said of Pago Pago Bay.

 

He said there will likely need to be mass evacuations of low-lying areas and there will be requests for assistance from Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

 

He said he didn't have any reports on injuries.

 

The U.S. State Department also said there was no word of American casualties or evacuees.