South Pacific Tsunami Slams Samoa; Hawaii Spared

By: Jeff Mull | September 30th, 2009 at 1:30am

It's the worst way to wake up in the morning. Forget the alarm clock and its incessant high-pitched squeal, there's nothing that can compare to waking up to a tsunami warning. (That is of course excluding waking up to an actual tsunami.) At 7:15 am this morning, I rolled over, rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and proceeded my a.m. ritual of checking the daily news on my iPhone. This morning, for the first time in weeks CNN.com didn't greet me with the usual lead on the health care debate, but rather the brash headline "BREAKING NEWS: Earthquake off Samoa, Tsunami warning in effect for much of the South Pacific."

F-ck.

With that brilliant four-letter word sounding through my mind, I hit the desktop for the details. Indeed, Samoa was hammered by 8.3-magnitude quake that reportedly shook the islands for up to four minutes, creating with it a deadly tsunami that swept through the South Pacific. Possibly headed to Hawaii.

Double F-ck.

A few phone calls and a hail Mary later and the news is looking better for Hawaii, but the situation remains critical in other parts of the South Pacific.

On the islands of America and independent Samoa, entire villages are reported to have been swept away. As of press time, the Honolulu Advertiser is reporting that 82 people were killed in Samoa as a result of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

According to the Advertiser, "Four tsunami waves 15 to 20 feet high roared ashore soon afterward,
reaching up to a mile inland, Mike Reynolds, superintendent of the
National Park of American Samoa, was quoted as saying by a parks
service spokeswoman."

For Hawaii, there were high-water effects, most notably in Haleiwa Harbor where the waterline rose a few feet higher than normal.

Known for its generous people, idyllic setting, and world-class waves, Samoa has been a destination for surfers for decades. Our thoughts go to the people of Samoa as they begin the process of cleaning up after this natural disaster.

If you're interested in helping with this event, consider donating money or supplies to your nonprofit of choice that has pledged to help the Samoan people.