Samoa Tsunami Devastating
The British Foreign Office (FCO) has issued an alert advising against all but essential travel to Samoa and American Samoa after an earthquake wreaked havoc on the islands, killing up to 100 and devastating resorts.
As reported by the UK’s Daily Mail, the islands, considered by many to be some of the most beautiful in the South Pacific, are home to around 250,000 people. They were hit by a killer tsunami early on Wednesday morning, triggered by an earthquake of 8.1 on the Richter scale – located about 122 miles southwest of the Samoa island.
The DM said that buildings are reduced to rubble on American Samoa after tsunami waves swept ashore yesterday.
According to New Delhi’s Kabrein Info, waves were reported five feet to 15 feet above sea level, prompting warning across the Pacific to the Western United States, from southern California up to Oregon-Washington border.
President Barack Obama declared a ‘major disaster’ in American Samoa, the White House said in a statement, and the US government is preparing to send emergency aid to the region within the next 24 hours.
