Jon Pearl
A large tsunami created by an earthquake ripped through the islands of Samoa on wednesday. 99 people have been estimated dead so far, with more injured and a great deal of property damage done.
The earthquake, which registered as high as 8.3 on the Richter scale, originated about 120 miles south of the islands. Waves from 15 to 20 feet high hit the shore, sending the islanders running for cover.
In the city of Pago Pago, the streets were flooded with ocean water and debris, and some people coulod be without power for over a month.
A tsunami is a series of water waves, caused by the movement of large amounts of water. The name translates to "harbor wave" in Japanesse. Usually triggered by earthquakes, landslides, and things of the sort, tsunamis are very common in the south Pacific, and are known to cause great destruction.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_pacific_earthquake
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Interesting. Good description of what causes a tsunami and what happens to an area hit by one.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good journalism, Jon.
I'm glad that you brought this to our attention because we will def. talk about tsunamis in class.
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