discover > our history > 2009 tsunami 2009 Tsunami On 29 September 2009, Samoa was hit by a devastating tsunami. Eleven of the 31 deaths in the US territory were in south-west facing, coastal village lands. Most large earthquakes occur in subduction zones, where one plate of Earth’s crust dives beneath another plate. Wed 30 Sep 2009 12.32 EDT. However, the events of September 29 involved a magnitude 8.1 earthquake on a normal fault within the outer rise; and the other magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred on the subduction zone as a thrust event. Samoan 2009 tsunami report: What caused the earthquake and tsunami? Preliminary field survey data of American Samoa indicates that the tsunami runups (height above ambient sea level) reached as much as 12 m, which is larger than most tsunamis generated by magnitude 8.0 earthquakes on the inter-plate thrust. We look at what causes tsunamis and what to look out for. Preliminary analysis of how much the fault slipped during the September 29, 2009, earthquake is given by the finite-fault model on the NEIC event page. This recognition promotes the territory’s ongoing efforts at hardening its warning dissemination (sirens, emergency alert system, social media), conducting regular community and school outreach, and creating evacuation maps and response plans with regular drills. Residents had roughly an hour to do so, as waves started to hit Samoa's coast at 8 a.m. Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes, which disrupt the sea floor. The 2009 Samoa outer-rise earthquake may have resulted in comparable fatalities and was the fourth largest outer-rise earthquake that has been instrumentally recorded since 1900. Map and perspective view of the Tonga Trench near the earthquake epicenter. Though this tsunami was not a Pacific-wide hazard, it was very destructive near the earthquake and killed 192 people in... A tsunami is a series of waves, not just a single wave. THE TSUNAMI OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2009 IN THE SAMOAN ISLANDS REGION The tsunami generated by the earthquake of September 29, 2009 was destructive along the coasts of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga. According to the December 19, 2017, U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to extreme drought covers 26.2% of the contiguous United, According to the October 2, 2018, U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to exceptional drought covers 24.6% of the United States, a, According to the April 13, 2021, U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to exceptional drought covers 38.0% of the United States, According to the March 10, 2020, U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to extreme drought covers 10.8% of the United States including, The deadly 2009 tsunami was triggered by at least two separate earthquakes occurring within 2–3 minutes of each other near the Tonga Trench, National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, Historical Tsunami Effects near the Tonga Trench Poster, U.S. Drought Monitor Update for December 19, 2017, U.S. Drought Monitor Update for October 2, 2018, U.S. Drought Monitor Update for April 13, 2021, U.S. Drought Monitor Update for March 10, 2020. Flexure of the plate elevates the sea floor, creating an oceanic feature known as an "outer rise" that parallels the oceanic trench. Christopher Moore of NOAA looks at computer graphs at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii, concerning the earthquake and tsunami that hit American Samoa. A series of prominent normal faults are observed as the trench curves around the northern Tonga arc. It had a magnitude of 8.1 on the recta-scale, making it the most largest and destructive earthquake in 2009. It is hoped that continued research on the nature and occurrence of outer-rise earthquakes around the world will help identify potential sites for future outer-rise earthquakes of this size and help mitigate the tsunami hazard associated with such rare but devastating events. A tsunami in the Pacific has killed more than 100 people in Samoa. A man carrying his child walks past a boat that was washed ashore in Pago Pago Harbor after an earthquake caused a tsunami on the island of American Samoa, September 30, 2009. This analysis of seismic waveform data indicates that there was a large amount of slip near the sea floor, further suggesting that the earthquake may have produced a mappable step on the sea floor where the causative fault intersects the surface. The animations below show the preliminary tsunami simulation as viewed from different directions. Samoa tsunami: 10 facts about tsunamis. Click on a pin on the map to see more information. English to Samoan. It resulted in many deaths and left tousands of people homeless. On the morning of September 29, 2009, a large undersea earthquake near Samoa generated a destructive tsunami that killed more than 100 people, said news reports. The southeast coast was the worst hit, because it … Gibson estimates that the tsunami would have taken 20 minutes to reach the islands of Samoa and American Samoa. American Samoa's governor has ordered all flags in the territory to be flown at half-mast for two-days marking the 10th anniversary of the September 2009 earthquake and tsunami that claimed the lives of 34 people in American Samoa. The September 2009 Samoa tsunami was generated by an unusual type of earthquake that occurs near ocean trenches. Reference: Kong, L., P. Dunbar, and N. Arcos (2015). The tsunami that hit Tonga and Samoa in September 2009 was caused by two earthquakes. Many of the aforementioned characteristics of outer-rise earthquakes can explain why the tsunami was so large. Pacific Tsunami Warning System: A Half-Century of Protecting the Pacific 1965-2015. A tsunami generated by an undersea earthquake has killed at least 89 people and wiped out several villages on the islands of American Samoa and Samoa. The first 34 minutes of propagation is shown. Schematic diagram of a subduction zone, showing the location of the outer rise and tensional stresses within the subducting plate. The earthquake was felt in American Samoa for up to 3 minutes, giving emergency responders, local government officials, and the public time to respond to natural warning signs because they understood the threat. The vertical exaggeration of the perspective view is 4x. An … The earthquake generated tsunami waves of up to 22 meters (72 feet) that engulfed the shores, killing at least 192 people; 149 in Samoa, 34 in American Samoa, and 9 in Niuatoputapu, Tonga. Viewpoint looks to the northwest. No data point selected. Similar to American Samoa, knowledge of the threat and recognition of a tsunami’s natural warning signs saved many lives in Samoa. The devastation extended beyond human casualties with houses destroyed, cars swept out to sea and some villages being virtually annihilated. Reports from American Samoa say waves of up to three metres washed onto the island, causing widespread destruction. On This Day: 2009 Samoa Islands Tsunami A Tsunami of Deadly Proportions. Asked by Wiki User. Back to overview: Samoa. The first 42 minutes of propagation is shown. This report first presents the characteristics of the earthquake and discusses the best estimations for the fault parameters. Created community-driven evacuation maps and signage. Abnormal tsunami amplification and runup in narrow bays is studied with respect to the Samoa tsunami of 29 September 2009. More information on the September 29, 2009 tsunami is available from the NOAA Center for Tsunami Research event page. This is an extremely rare event, known as a “doublet.”. The deadly 2009 tsunami was triggered by at least two separate earthquakes occurring within 2–3 minutes of each other near the Tonga Trench, one of the most seismically active areas in the world. With over $200 million dollars in damages, the islands were ravaged both physically and economically. Tsunamis are ocean waves triggered by: Large earthquakes that occur near or under the ocean Volcanic eruptions Submarine landslides Onshore landslides in which large volumes of debris fall into the water Scientists do not use the term "tidal wave" because these waves are not caused by tides. The 1933 Sanriku tsunami generated from a magnitude 8.4 outer-rise earthquake resulted in over 3,000 deaths in Japan and significant damage on the Island of Hawai'i. On Tuesday the 29th of September 2009, a huge tsunami hit Samoa – as well as several other islands – and impacted many, leaving a path of destruction. In the hopes that disasters such as this can be minimized in the future, we attempt to understand the mechanism and impact of this tsunami. Villages dotted the coastline and many local residents operated tourist businesses or worked in the industry. Shaded relief bathymetry generated from multibeam data available from the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) (Survey KIWI11RR, Chief Scientist Nancy Kanjorski, see the multibeam report) and Oregon State University (courtesy Professor Dawn Wright), along with ETOPO-1 bathymetry data (view the ETOPO-1 data sources). This translates to higher vertical movement of the sea floor, lifting the entire ocean above the rupture zone. Samoa was hit by a tsunami and earthquake on 29 September 2009. In Samoa, however, most of the devastation was caused by a tsunami generated by the undersea quake. Dispersive modeling of the 2009 Samoa tsunami Hongqiang Zhou,1,2 Yong Wei,1,2 and Vasily V. Titov1 Received 9 July 2012; accepted 12 July 2012; published 22 August 2012. This process is sometimes referred to as “shoaling amplification”. We look at what causes tsunamis and what to look out for. Three earthquakes (measuring 8.1 and 7.8) triggered the tsunami that swept ashore, killing 192 people. This tsunami was generated by an 8.1 magnitude earthquake near the Samoan Islands on September 29, 2009. See Answer. Samoa. Unlike typical tsunamigenic earthquakes that occur on the thrust fault that separates tectonic plates in a subduction zone (termed the inter-plate thrust), outer-rise earthquakes, as they are called, occur within the subducting or downgoing plate before it enters the subduction zone. In the main villages of Hihifo, Falehau, and Vaipoa, flow heights measured 4 to 7 meters. This article is more than 11 years old. Since the earthquakes occurred so close in time, scientists have not been able to distinguish which earthquake occurred first, or which caused a bigger tsunami. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center recorded a 76 mm (3.0 in) rise in sea levels near the epicenter, and New Zealand scientists noted waves as high as 14 m (46 ft) on the Samoan coast. 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what caused the tsunami in samoa 2009

As I write this, information on the Indonesian quake is still scarce (it took place only a few hours ago.) Samoa is returning to normal, rebuilding its infrastructure and clearing up the debris left by the tsunami. Samoa: Earthquake Tsunami Emergency appeal n° MDRWS001 GLIDE n° 2009-000209-ASM and 2009-000210-WSM 4 October 2009 ... Much of the destruction caused by the tsunami was concentrated on the southern coastline of Upolu, the most populated of the two islands in Western Samoa. Starting in 2007, Samoa ran National Tsunami Drills in Apia to prepare for tsunamis, raising public awareness that during a worst-case scenario, villages would have only 15 minutes before the tsunami arrived. The September 2009 Samoa tsunami was generated by an unusual type of earthquake that occurs near ocean trenches. But by early Tuesday morning, residents and tourists were struck a devastating blow when a massive earthquake hit 120 miles off the coast of the islands, triggering a tsunami that killed hundreds. [1] In this study, we investigate the dispersive effects in the2009 Samoa tsunami through numerical simulations. Approximate location of epicenter (surface projection of earthquake’s origin) shown by orange circle. A tsunami was generated from the earthquake which caused substantial damage and loss of life in Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga. September 29, 2009 Samoa Tsunami, Southwest Pacific Ocean. A tsunami in the Pacific has killed more than 100 people in Samoa. Most large earthquakes occur in subduction zones, where one plate of … Preliminary simulation of the tsunami from the September 29, 2009 M=8.0 outer-rise earthquake between Samoa and Tonga. Luckily, many of the residents were able to evacuate to higher places during the first and second smaller waves. The wave, which also hit American Samoa and northern Tonga, was generated by a massive 8.1 magnitude undersea earthquake which struck at 6.48am local time and was felt widely in … In 2012, American Samoa received TsunamiReady recognition, from the NOAA National Weather Service. The subsequent tsunami caused substantial damage and loss of life in Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga. Damage in American Samoa caused by the 2009 Tsunami Photo: RNZI. The anomalous amplification and runup in Pago Pago (Tutuila, American Samoa) during the Samoa tsunami of 29 September 2009 is studied using two models of bottom bathymetry of Pago Pago harbour: the plane beach model and the narrow bay model. In this region, the Pacific plate subducts westward beneath the Australia plate at the Tonga Trench. The maximum fault slip for this earthquake is much higher than for an inter-plate thrust earthquake of comparable magnitude. Preliminary simulation of the tsunami from the September 29, 2009 M=8.1 outer-rise earthquake between Samoa and Tonga. Samoa Earthquake and Tsunami of September 29, 2009 Multiple reconnaissance teams traveled to Samoa in October and November 2009, and contributed to the preparation of this report. In 2009, about 950 people lived on Niuatoputapu. More information on the September 29, 2009 M=8.1 Samoa Islands earthquake is available from the USGS National Earthquake Information Center. Tsunamis are big waves that are generated from earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions that occur in the ocean. As the plate flexes, tensional stress in the oceanic crust creates potentially large normal faults. On an idyllic Monday night in 2009, the palm-lined coasts of the American Samoa, Samoa, and Tonga Islands looked peaceful and serene. Thanks to education and outreach efforts held over the summer and fall of 2009, many organizations and individuals knew the signs of an impending tsunami and had developed tsunami evacuation plans. Wed 30 Sep 2009 05.07 EDT The tsunami that killed dozens of people in the Pacific islands of Samoa and American Samoa, and sent smaller waves to … In 2017, UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) recognized Samoa’s first UNESCO IOC Tsunami Ready community, a pilot project that recognizes tsunami mitigation, preparedness, and response activities. Updated October 13, 2009, An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter Scale occurred 120 miles south-southwest from American Samoa, about 13 kilometers below the seabed at about 6:48 a.m. SST (1:48 p.m. Eastern DT ).The earthquake was followed by a tsunami that produced several large waves causing 32 confirmed deaths, more than a hundred injuries and the destruction of about 200 … The first 40 minutes of propagation is shown. Tsunamis. American Samoa Twenty minutes flight away in American Samoa, I visited my family village of Leone which was badly affected by the disaster. Talks have begun on how to keep the Samoan public better informed of pending disasters. Viewpoint looks to the east. On Sept. 29, 2009, an earthquake in the Pacific Ocean caused a 46-foot tsunami to hit Upolu in three distinct waves. On 29 September 2009 at 17:48:11 UTC a large earthquake of magnitude 8 struck off‐shore of the Samoa Islands and generated a large tsunami that destroyed several villages and caused more than 160 fatalities. For more information on how you can prepare for a tsunami, visit the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program. If a tsunami starts off in deeper water, then it will be amplified to a greater extent by the time it reaches shore than a comparable tsunami that starts off in shallow water. Since the 2009 tsunami, Samoa has taken many preparedness measures: Established a 24/7 National Earthquake and Tsunami Warning Center and built an Emergency Operations Center to support disasters, Upgraded its warning dissemination systems to include island-wide sirens and SMS to essential village and national representatives, churches, schools, NGOs, and the private sector. See Answer. The tsunami that was triggered by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake on September 29, 2009, caused significant damage and loss of life on Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga. What caused the 2009 Samoa tsunami? Outer-rise earthquakes are caused by stresses in the subducting, oceanic plate induced by bending as the plate enters the trench. On September 29, 2009, at 17:48 UTC (6:48 a.m. local time), a magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck midway between Samoa and American Samoa, a U.S. territory. The tsunami was a wake-up call there. NCEI is the global data and information service for tsunamis. Top Answer. AP Photo/New Zealand Herald, Brett Phibbs Also, visit NCEI’s Natural Hazards website for more earthquake and tsunami data, images, and educational materials. On September 29, 2009, at 17:48 UTC (6:48 a.m. local time), a magnitude 8.1 earthquake... An Uncommon Event. When a tsunami travels from deep water to shallow water, the speed of the wave crest or trough slows, the wavelength decreases, and the amplitude increases. At least three major waves hit, with the highest 22 meters on the southern coast of Tafahi. Unlike typical tsunamigenic earthquakes that occur on the thrust fault that separates tectonic plates in a subduction zone (termed the inter-plate thrust), outer-rise earthquakes, as they are called, occur within the subducting or downgoing plate before it enters the subduction zone. An effective tsunami warning system relies on the free and open exchange and long-term management of global data and science products to mitigate, model, and forecast tsunamis. Crustal stresses caused by earthquakes on the inter-plate thrust fault in subduction zones can also be transferred to the outer rise, triggering earthquakes on normal faults that are already close to failure. With over 30 deaths in the U.S. territory of American Samoa, the 2009 event caused the largest number of deaths in America due to a tsunami in the 21st Century. The information presented here is focused on geologic aspects of the disaster. At the Tonga trench, the Pacific plate entering the subduction zone is particularly old and dense, resulting in a steep angle of descent and many normal faults near the trench. There have only been a few verified instances of tsunamis generated by outer-rise earthquakes, but those that have occurred have been devastating. The 2009 Samoa earthquake occurred east of the Tonga trench, near the northern terminus of the Tonga volcanic arc where the trench takes a sharp bend to the west. Global historical tsunami data, including more information about the Samoa Islands 2009 earthquake and tsunami, are available via interactive maps and a variety of web services. In Indonesia, the damage came from the earthquake itself. What caused the Tsunami in Samoan in 2009? According to measurements from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the magnitude 8.0 quake hit at 6:48 a.m. about 200 kilometers (125 miles) south of Apia, the capital of Samoa. Samoa tsunami: at least 100 feared dead on Pacific islands. • The word ‘tsunami’ is… The 1977 Sumba magnitude 8.2-8.3 outer-rise earthquake resulted in 189 deaths in Indonesia. In an island nation, he says, "once the earth shakes, residents should take that as the warning and immediately find higher ground." Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes or other seismic eruptions on ground of an oceans and can cause massive tidal waves, which run with enormous force on land, causing great devastation. Top Answer. Wiki User Answered 2012-07-20 23:57:49. Preliminary simulation of the tsunami from the September 29, 2009 M=8.0 outer-rise earthquake between Samoa and Tonga. Viewpoint looks to the west. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), Mapping, Remote Sensing, and Geospatial Data, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, September 29, 2009 M=8.1 Samoa Islands earthquake. These included EERI member and structural engineer Steven Bal-dridge, president of Baldridge & Associates Structural Engineering, and an International Tsunami Sur- Prior to the tsunami in 2009, Samoa also hosted two international meetings that brought attention to the local hazardous conditions that is common to many Southwest Pacific island nations. home > discover > our history > 2009 tsunami 2009 Tsunami On 29 September 2009, Samoa was hit by a devastating tsunami. Eleven of the 31 deaths in the US territory were in south-west facing, coastal village lands. Most large earthquakes occur in subduction zones, where one plate of Earth’s crust dives beneath another plate. Wed 30 Sep 2009 12.32 EDT. However, the events of September 29 involved a magnitude 8.1 earthquake on a normal fault within the outer rise; and the other magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred on the subduction zone as a thrust event. Samoan 2009 tsunami report: What caused the earthquake and tsunami? Preliminary field survey data of American Samoa indicates that the tsunami runups (height above ambient sea level) reached as much as 12 m, which is larger than most tsunamis generated by magnitude 8.0 earthquakes on the inter-plate thrust. We look at what causes tsunamis and what to look out for. Preliminary analysis of how much the fault slipped during the September 29, 2009, earthquake is given by the finite-fault model on the NEIC event page. This recognition promotes the territory’s ongoing efforts at hardening its warning dissemination (sirens, emergency alert system, social media), conducting regular community and school outreach, and creating evacuation maps and response plans with regular drills. Residents had roughly an hour to do so, as waves started to hit Samoa's coast at 8 a.m. Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes, which disrupt the sea floor. The 2009 Samoa outer-rise earthquake may have resulted in comparable fatalities and was the fourth largest outer-rise earthquake that has been instrumentally recorded since 1900. Map and perspective view of the Tonga Trench near the earthquake epicenter. Though this tsunami was not a Pacific-wide hazard, it was very destructive near the earthquake and killed 192 people in... A tsunami is a series of waves, not just a single wave. THE TSUNAMI OF SEPTEMBER 29, 2009 IN THE SAMOAN ISLANDS REGION The tsunami generated by the earthquake of September 29, 2009 was destructive along the coasts of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga. According to the December 19, 2017, U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to extreme drought covers 26.2% of the contiguous United, According to the October 2, 2018, U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to exceptional drought covers 24.6% of the United States, a, According to the April 13, 2021, U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to exceptional drought covers 38.0% of the United States, According to the March 10, 2020, U.S. Drought Monitor, moderate to extreme drought covers 10.8% of the United States including, The deadly 2009 tsunami was triggered by at least two separate earthquakes occurring within 2–3 minutes of each other near the Tonga Trench, National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program, Historical Tsunami Effects near the Tonga Trench Poster, U.S. Drought Monitor Update for December 19, 2017, U.S. Drought Monitor Update for October 2, 2018, U.S. Drought Monitor Update for April 13, 2021, U.S. Drought Monitor Update for March 10, 2020. Flexure of the plate elevates the sea floor, creating an oceanic feature known as an "outer rise" that parallels the oceanic trench. Christopher Moore of NOAA looks at computer graphs at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii, concerning the earthquake and tsunami that hit American Samoa. A series of prominent normal faults are observed as the trench curves around the northern Tonga arc. It had a magnitude of 8.1 on the recta-scale, making it the most largest and destructive earthquake in 2009. It is hoped that continued research on the nature and occurrence of outer-rise earthquakes around the world will help identify potential sites for future outer-rise earthquakes of this size and help mitigate the tsunami hazard associated with such rare but devastating events. A tsunami in the Pacific has killed more than 100 people in Samoa. A man carrying his child walks past a boat that was washed ashore in Pago Pago Harbor after an earthquake caused a tsunami on the island of American Samoa, September 30, 2009. This analysis of seismic waveform data indicates that there was a large amount of slip near the sea floor, further suggesting that the earthquake may have produced a mappable step on the sea floor where the causative fault intersects the surface. The animations below show the preliminary tsunami simulation as viewed from different directions. Samoa tsunami: 10 facts about tsunamis. Click on a pin on the map to see more information. English to Samoan. It resulted in many deaths and left tousands of people homeless. On the morning of September 29, 2009, a large undersea earthquake near Samoa generated a destructive tsunami that killed more than 100 people, said news reports. The southeast coast was the worst hit, because it … Gibson estimates that the tsunami would have taken 20 minutes to reach the islands of Samoa and American Samoa. American Samoa's governor has ordered all flags in the territory to be flown at half-mast for two-days marking the 10th anniversary of the September 2009 earthquake and tsunami that claimed the lives of 34 people in American Samoa. The September 2009 Samoa tsunami was generated by an unusual type of earthquake that occurs near ocean trenches. Reference: Kong, L., P. Dunbar, and N. Arcos (2015). The tsunami that hit Tonga and Samoa in September 2009 was caused by two earthquakes. Many of the aforementioned characteristics of outer-rise earthquakes can explain why the tsunami was so large. Pacific Tsunami Warning System: A Half-Century of Protecting the Pacific 1965-2015. A tsunami generated by an undersea earthquake has killed at least 89 people and wiped out several villages on the islands of American Samoa and Samoa. The first 34 minutes of propagation is shown. Schematic diagram of a subduction zone, showing the location of the outer rise and tensional stresses within the subducting plate. The earthquake was felt in American Samoa for up to 3 minutes, giving emergency responders, local government officials, and the public time to respond to natural warning signs because they understood the threat. The vertical exaggeration of the perspective view is 4x. An … The earthquake generated tsunami waves of up to 22 meters (72 feet) that engulfed the shores, killing at least 192 people; 149 in Samoa, 34 in American Samoa, and 9 in Niuatoputapu, Tonga. Viewpoint looks to the northwest. No data point selected. Similar to American Samoa, knowledge of the threat and recognition of a tsunami’s natural warning signs saved many lives in Samoa. The devastation extended beyond human casualties with houses destroyed, cars swept out to sea and some villages being virtually annihilated. Reports from American Samoa say waves of up to three metres washed onto the island, causing widespread destruction. On This Day: 2009 Samoa Islands Tsunami A Tsunami of Deadly Proportions. Asked by Wiki User. Back to overview: Samoa. The first 42 minutes of propagation is shown. This report first presents the characteristics of the earthquake and discusses the best estimations for the fault parameters. Created community-driven evacuation maps and signage. Abnormal tsunami amplification and runup in narrow bays is studied with respect to the Samoa tsunami of 29 September 2009. More information on the September 29, 2009 tsunami is available from the NOAA Center for Tsunami Research event page. This is an extremely rare event, known as a “doublet.”. The deadly 2009 tsunami was triggered by at least two separate earthquakes occurring within 2–3 minutes of each other near the Tonga Trench, one of the most seismically active areas in the world. With over $200 million dollars in damages, the islands were ravaged both physically and economically. Tsunamis are ocean waves triggered by: Large earthquakes that occur near or under the ocean Volcanic eruptions Submarine landslides Onshore landslides in which large volumes of debris fall into the water Scientists do not use the term "tidal wave" because these waves are not caused by tides. The 1933 Sanriku tsunami generated from a magnitude 8.4 outer-rise earthquake resulted in over 3,000 deaths in Japan and significant damage on the Island of Hawai'i. On Tuesday the 29th of September 2009, a huge tsunami hit Samoa – as well as several other islands – and impacted many, leaving a path of destruction. In the hopes that disasters such as this can be minimized in the future, we attempt to understand the mechanism and impact of this tsunami. Villages dotted the coastline and many local residents operated tourist businesses or worked in the industry. Shaded relief bathymetry generated from multibeam data available from the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) (Survey KIWI11RR, Chief Scientist Nancy Kanjorski, see the multibeam report) and Oregon State University (courtesy Professor Dawn Wright), along with ETOPO-1 bathymetry data (view the ETOPO-1 data sources). This translates to higher vertical movement of the sea floor, lifting the entire ocean above the rupture zone. Samoa was hit by a tsunami and earthquake on 29 September 2009. In Samoa, however, most of the devastation was caused by a tsunami generated by the undersea quake. Dispersive modeling of the 2009 Samoa tsunami Hongqiang Zhou,1,2 Yong Wei,1,2 and Vasily V. Titov1 Received 9 July 2012; accepted 12 July 2012; published 22 August 2012. This process is sometimes referred to as “shoaling amplification”. We look at what causes tsunamis and what to look out for. Three earthquakes (measuring 8.1 and 7.8) triggered the tsunami that swept ashore, killing 192 people. This tsunami was generated by an 8.1 magnitude earthquake near the Samoan Islands on September 29, 2009. See Answer. Samoa. Unlike typical tsunamigenic earthquakes that occur on the thrust fault that separates tectonic plates in a subduction zone (termed the inter-plate thrust), outer-rise earthquakes, as they are called, occur within the subducting or downgoing plate before it enters the subduction zone. In the main villages of Hihifo, Falehau, and Vaipoa, flow heights measured 4 to 7 meters. This article is more than 11 years old. Since the earthquakes occurred so close in time, scientists have not been able to distinguish which earthquake occurred first, or which caused a bigger tsunami. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center recorded a 76 mm (3.0 in) rise in sea levels near the epicenter, and New Zealand scientists noted waves as high as 14 m (46 ft) on the Samoan coast. 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