Saturday, May 18, 2013
Quake rattles American Samoa as residents mark anniversary of killer tsunami
POSTED: 10:35 a.m. HST, Sep 29, 2010
LAST UPDATED: 01:44 p.m. HST, Sep 29, 2010
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa >> A small earthquake struck American Samoa as a memorial service was being held to mark the first anniversary of an earthquake and tsunami that left 34 people dead in the U.S. territory.
There were no reports of injuries or damage. The service went on without interruption.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach said today's 5.4 quake was too weak to generate a tsunami.
A geophysicist at the center, Victor Sardina, said the quake was felt in American Samoa because it was so close, just 136 miles southwest of the capital, Pago Pago.
On Sept. 29, 2009, a magnitude-8.0 earthquake generated tsunami waves up to 40 feet that swept through the region, killing 194 people, including 34 in American Samoa.
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