CURRENT & ARCHIVE QUAKES & TSUNAMI INFO – PART 1
February 27, 2010
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
SUPPLEMENT TO PREVIOUS BLOG AND PART 1 OF A TSUNAMI SERIES
Begin Excerpt from chicagotribune.com
Huge quake hits Chile, causing vast damage; tsunami threatens nations across Pacific
EVA VERGARA, ROBERTO CANDIA
Associated Press Writer
1:42 PM CST, February 27, 2010
TALCA, Chile (AP) — One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Chile on Saturday, toppling homes, collapsing bridges and plunging trucks into
the fractured earth. A tsunami threatened every nation around the Pacific Ocean — roughly a quarter of the globe.
Chileans near the epicenter were tossed about by the magnitude-8.8 quake as if shaken by a giant. At least 147 people were killed, according to Carmen Fernandez, director of the National Emergency Agency.
The quake shook buildings in Argentina’s capital of Buenos Aires, and was felt as far away as Sao Paulo in Brazil — 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) to the east. About 13 million people live in the area where shaking was strong to severe, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
In Talca, just 65 miles (105 kilometers) from the epicenter, furniture toppled as the earth shook for more than a minute in something akin to major airplane turbulence. The historic center of town largely collapsed, but most of the buildings of adobe mud and straw were businesses that were not inhabited during the 3:34 a.m. (1:34 a.m. EST, 0634 GMT) quake.
Neighbors pulled at least five people from the rubble while emergency workers, themselves disoriented, asked for information from reporters.
Collapsed roads and bridges complicated north-south travel in the narrow Andean nation. Electricity, water and phone lines were cut to many areas — meaning there was no word of death or damage from many outlying areas.
In the Chilean capital of Santiago, 200 miles (325 kilometers) northeast of the epicenter, a car dangled from a collapsed overpass, the national Fine Arts Museum was badly damaged and an apartment building’s two-story parking lot pancaked, smashing about 50 cars whose alarms rang incessantly.
The jolt set off a tsunami that swamped a village on an island off Chile, then raced across the Pacific, setting off alarm sirens in Hawaii, Polynesia and Tonga. Tahitian officials banned all traffic on roads less than 1,600 feet (500 meters) from the sea and people in several low-lying island nations were urged to find higher ground.
The first waves were expected to hit Hawaii after 11 a.m. (4 p.m. EST; 2100 GMT) and measure roughly 8 feet (2.5 meters) at Hilo. Officials evacuated people and boats near the water and closed shore-side Hilo International Airport.
Experts said tsunami waves could hit Asian, Australian and New Zealand shores as well as the U.S. West Coast and Alaska. In all, 53 nations and territories were subject to tsunami warnings.
Waves 6 feet (1.8 meter) above normal hit Talcahuano near Concepcion 23 minutes after the quake, then inundated the village of San Juan Bautista on Robinson Crusoe Island, 410 miles (660 kilometers) off the Chilean coast. At least three people were missing on the island, said Ivan de la Maza, superintendent of Chile’s prinicipal port zone.
“There was a big wave that covered half of the village,” said de la Maza, who is responsible for the island’s port as well.
A helicopter and a Navy frigate were enroute to the island to assist in the search, he said.
President Michelle Bachelet declared a “state of catastrophe” in central Chile but said the government has not asked for assistance from other countries.
“The system is functioning.
People should remain calm. We’re doing everything we can with all the forces we have,” she said.
Powerful aftershocks rattled Chile’s coast — 41 of them magnitude 5 or greater — in the 10 hours after the quake. Six were sizable quakes in their own right, magnitude 6 or greater.
In Santiago, modern buildings are built to withstand earthquakes, but many older ones were heavily damaged, including the Nuestra Senora de la Providencia church, whose bell tower collapsed. A bridge just outside the capital also collapsed, and at least one car flipped upside down. Several hospitals were evacuated due to earthquake damage, Bachelet said.
Santiago’s airport will remain closed for at least 24 hours after the passenger terminal suffered major damage, airport director Eduardo del Canto told Chilean television. TV images showed smashed windows, partially collapsed ceilings and pedestrian walkways destroyed.
Santiago’s subway was shut as well and hundreds of buses were trapped at a terminal by a damaged bridge, Transportation and Telecommunications Minister said. He urged Chileans to make phone calls or travel only when absolutely necessary.
In Concepcion, Chile’s second-largest city and only 70 miles (115 kilometers) from the epicenter, nurses and residents pushed the injured through the streets on stretchers. Others walked around in a daze wrapped in blankets, some carrying infants in their arms. A 15-story building collapsed, leaving only a few floors intact.
“I was on the 8th floor and all of a sudden I was down here,” said Fernando Abarzua, marveling that he escaped with no major injuries. He said a relative was still trapped in the rubble six hours after the quake, “but he keeps shouting, saying he’s OK.”
Marco Vidal, a program director for Grand Circle Travel who was traveling with a group of 34 Americans, was on the 19th floor of the Crown Plaza Santiago hotel when the quake struck.
“All the things start to fall. The lamps, everything, was going on the floor,” he said. “I felt terrified.”
Cynthia Iocono, from Linwood, Pennsylvania, said she first thought the quake was a train.
“But then I thought, ‘Oh, there’s no train here.’ And then the lamps flew off the dresser and my TV flew off onto the floor and crashed.”
The quake struck after concert-goers had left South America’s leading music festival in the coastal city of Vina del Mar, where organizers canceled performances on Saturday, the final night of the festival. But it caught partiers leaving a disco.
“It was very bad. People were screaming. Some people were running, others appeared paralyzed. I was one of them,” Julio Alvarez told Radio Cooperativa.
The largest earthquake ever recorded struck the same area of Chile on May 22, 1960. The magnitude-9.5 quake killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless. The tsunami that it caused killed people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines and caused damage to the west coast of the United States.
Saturday’s quake matched a 1906 temblor off the Ecuadorean coast as the seventh-strongest ever recorded in the world.
Eva Vergara reported from Santiago, Chile. Associated Press Television News cameraman Mauricio Cuevas and writer Eduardo Gallardo in Santiago, and AP writer Sandy Kozel in Washington contributed to this story.
INFORMATION FROM OUR QUAKE & TSUNAMI ARCHIVES
TSUNAMI – A PREVIEW OF COMING ATTRACTIONS – PART 1
September 30, 2009
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
I have contended for 35 years that while we cannot know the exact time Israel will be attacked by the Islamic forces of Antichrist, at which time massive earthquakes and volcanic eruptions will begin along all the major fault structures attached to or associated with the earth’s tectonic plate structure, we can at least know we are in the final time zone when it is “drawing nigh.” I am of the opinion it is very likely to initially begin at some point in time between 2010 and 2015.
Luke 21:25,26 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; [26] Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Isaiah 29:6 – Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
Begin Archive Special Prophecy Update Number 204C
ARCHIVE SPECIAL PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 204C
December 28, 2004
The Time of Jacob’s Trouble – Part 1A
Worldwide Tectonic Chaos
Luke 21:28 – And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
For more than thirty years I have attempted to warn people that the day of God’s redemption was not in the distant future, but was nearer than many believed. No man has been able to predict the exact time when the terrible events of the tribulation period would suddenly introduce the final three and one-half years before the final battle of Armageddon, and I have always readily admitted that while I knew they would happen, I could not tell exactly when. However, while I cannot predict the day, the week, the month, the year, or the season (Summer, Fall, Winter, or Spring), I have always said that we could at least know when our redemption was “drawing nigh.”
I completed my first book, “Tectonic Chaos,” in 1977, after graduating from Arkansas Tech University. In it I wrote about the type of event that has just occurred as a result of the great seafloor earthquake off the northwestern tip of Sumatra, which could end with a death toll of some 28,000. It is somewhat ironic that I discussed another great tsunami generated to the east of Sumatra in the Sunda Straits of Indonesia in the first edition of the book, pointing out that it took more 36,000 lives. It was generated by a massive explosion in the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa volcano. And now, more than 120 years later, another tsunami is taking a massive number of lives. The following quote is taken from the first edition of “Tectonic Chaos,” which was published by Diamond W. Graphics in 1979. (Begin Quote)
“Furthermore, I assure you, that when a massive worldwide shifting of the tectonic plates occurs, then seismic wave action (tsunami) would destroy any ships anch ored
in ports around the world. At any given time about two-thirds of the world’s shipping is under way in the open seas or inland waterways, and the remaining one-third is in port or near the world’s coastlines. Ships on the open sea will be virtually unaffected by the tsunami waves, but a few will abruptly rise up on steeply inclined shorelines to perhaps hundreds of feet in height, and destroy all ships in port at that time.
These gigantic shore waves, called tsunami by the Japanese, occur in conjunction with massive landslides and/or vertical faulting on the seafloor caused by strong earthquakes and/or volcanic activity. Tsunami may travel thousands of miles across the oceans at speeds in excess of 450 miles per hour, and spread inland across low coastal areas as destructive waves maintaining a height of perhaps 60 feet for a brief period. One of the most disastrous tsunami on record caused the drowning of some 36,000 people living on islands in the East Indies.” (End Quote)
We are currently putting up an updated version of “Tectonic Chaos” on our Web Site chapter by chapter, and already have chapters 1 through 28 on it, with 8 chapters still to be put up, which we hope to get up by the end of January 2005.
The final generation, which I believe is in place today, is exactly like the final generation of Israel before it was judged by God and carried into Babylonian captivity. It wanted to hear only “smooth” things, good tidings that advised them their future looked great, that judgment was not for them, and that no tribulation would come upon them. Anyone who dared to tell them it was near, was ignored or rejected, but they loved those who said they were from God and told them what they wanted to hear. This was true of the northern kingdom of Israel before it was carried into Assyrian captivity, and of the southern kingdom of Judah before it also was carried to Babylon, and it is now true of many of God’s children who are about to go into a time of tribulation judgment. God’s warning for rebellion of his children is good for all generations, including the present one.
Isaiah 30:8-13 – Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: [9] That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the Lord: [10] Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: [11] Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. [12] Wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, Because ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon: [13] Therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall, swelling out in a high wall, whose breaking cometh suddenly at an instant.
Jeremiah 5:11-14,31 – For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord. [12] They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: [13] And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. [14] Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. [31] The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
This is also the condition among the majority of the children
of God in this last generation before the Second Advent. Fellows like me who have the audacity to teach that the children of God might have to go through part of the tribulation period are labeled as the “doom and gloom boys.” But I ask the same question as Jeremiah, “What will ye do in the end thereof?” Many of the teachers of the Word today are scratching the ears of the hearers, giving them comic relief from their itching fears of possibly being exposed to any kind of tribulation for the glory of God.
II Timothy 4:3-5 – For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; [4] And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. [5] But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.
God’s coming judgment, identified as the time of Jacob’s trouble, contrary to popular belief, will begin while the saved are still be on the same planet with descendants of Jacob, and all born again believers that remain alive in the flesh, will remain on the earth until just before the seven vials of God’s wrath begin to be poured out.
Revelation 16:1 – And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
When you read this, if you are one who believes all the saved will definitely be caught out before the tribulation period begins, let me assure you that I have no desire to anger you. But I do implore you to read and consider the following Prophecy Updates in our Archives, which you may read by clicking on the arrow at the top of this update, and then selecting the following Updates from it for study – Prophecy Updates 166C, 72D, 74A, 78A, 82A, and 144F.
The horrific earthquake and resultant tsunami, which was generated off the northwestern tip of Sumatra last week, has taken an astronomical total of lives, and has once again demonstrated the real possibility of worldwide chaos when a massive movement of the earth’s tectonic plate structure does begin. This is not the beginning of the tribulation period, but I do assure you, that when the great earthquake in Revelation 6:12 occurs in the Jordan River Valley, it will mark the beginning of the last three and a half years of the tribulation period, and that the type of event which occurred in southeastern Asia will be occurring hundreds of times all along the shorelines of this planet until the end of the battle of Armageddon. I finished my third book, titled “The Bottomless Pit,” in 1979, and it was published by Bogard Press in the early eighties. It was later given a new title, “Birth Pangs from the Bottomless Pit,” and published in the mid-1980s. The following is extracted from the first edition of “The Bottomless Pit,” and similar comments may be viewed by clicking backward in our Birth Pang Archives until you reach Birth Pang Number 5.
(Begin Extract from “The Bottomless Pit.”)
“The preceding chapters have continually added to the premise that God will destroy sinful mankind ‘with the earth.’ This chapter, and those which follow, will continue to build upon that premise. The major contention of this premise is that God will move the massive tectonic plates shown in figure 3 approximately one to two feet during the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation Period. It is this destroying ‘with the earth’ that will create the horrifying scenes described in Isaiah 29:6 and Luke 21:25.
Isaiah 29:6 – Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire,
Luke 21:25 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring,
In Luke 21:25 the word translated “wave” is “saiou,” which means a particular type of wave. It means a wave that breaks on the shoreline, a wave of the surf. The nations of the world will be in great perplexity because of
the roaring sound of the sea and surf. It is this phenomenon of sea and surf that will destroy one-third of the world’s shipping.
The claim has been made that unbelievably violent earth¬quake and volcanic activity will be occurring along the area indicated by dashed lines of figure 3 during the last half of the Tribulation Period. Please note that most of these great cracks in the earth’s crust lie on the ocean and sea floors of the world. If I am correct about the earthquake and volcanic activity along these cracks, then I am positive that what I am about to describe will definitely occur.
There are many types of waves that exist on the ocean sur¬face. The most common being those induced by the winds and tides of the earth. But the most horrifying of all waves that pound the shorelines of the world is not produced by wind or tide; it is the unbelievable tsunami produced by earthquake and volcanic eruption on the seafloor.
Tsunami waves are not Tidal Waves. They are caused by undersea earthquakes or volcanoes and have killed millions of people down through the ages. Tsunami is the Japanese word for ‘storm wave.’ The Alaska earthquake of 1964 produced the tsunami wave pattern shown in figure 6.
As you can observe from the figure, it only took the tsunami four hours to move from the epicenter to Hawaii. Tsunami travel as fast as some jet aircraft. Tsunami can now be predicted so that appalling death tolls of yesteryear can be avoided. A network of seismic warning stations now functions across the Pacific Ocean to give early warning of an approaching tsunami.
As you can observe on the lower half of figure 6, a tsunami is generated when an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption causes a sudden downward movement of an earth block. The downward displacement of water above the block produces not a surface wave, but rather a wave which moves horizontally outward through the water from the bottom to the top. Tsunamis cross the ocean as long, low waves which seagoing vessels may not even notice. But as you may observe in figure 7, when the tsunami approaches the shoreline the energy of the wave is con¬fined in shallower and shallower water. Tsunami have been known to rise to heights in excess of two hundred fifty feet. The increase in tsunami occurrences, during the past 190 years, is made evident in figure 8.
When a tsunami crashes against a coastline it destroys everything in its path, often up to half a mile inland.
Shipping on the open sea is virtually unaffected by a tsunami, but woe unto the ship that is caught in port. There is not a ship built which can withstand the force of a full blown tsunami as it roars into port. In one day the old city of Lisbon and all the ships in port were destroyed by a wall of water that washed half a mile inland. During the last three and one-half years of the Tribulation Period most of the coastal cities of the world and the ships in port will be completely destroyed by tsunami after tsunami. This is what will produce much of the distress and perplexity among the nations of the world. Now, how does all this fit in with Revelation 8:9 regarding John’s statement: “and the third part of the ships were destroyed?”
At any given time approximately two-thirds of the world’s shipping is “under way” on the open sea, and one-third is in port or dry dock. The two-thirds on the open sea will be spared, and the one-third in port will be destroyed by tsunami during the sounding of the second trumpet.
The following Scriptures leave little doubt that God has con¬trol of the sea and the destructive forces of its waves. Those who “do business in great waters” will lose one-third of their busi¬ness on the sounding of the second trump.
Psalm 89:9 – Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them,
Isaiah 51:15 – But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The Lord of hosts is his name,
Psalm 107:23-25 – They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof,
The earth is God’s creation and all the things thereof. God does not need man’s weaponry or technology to fulfill His prophecies. God has already made all the elements necessary to destroy man, and He has molded them into forms, shapes, com¬pounds and processes capable of fulfilling His revelation of end-time events. I know that a great war will occur. Many men will die in that war. Bullets and other weaponry will kill many of them; but that will be only a few compared to the earthquake, fire and brimstone toll exacted by the force of Almighty God upon sinful mankind. For too long biblical expositors have been concentrating on a single tree (man’s weaponry and technology) as what will fulfill Revelation prophecies.
In so doing, they have overlooked the forest of God’s creation, among which are the earth’s many natural destructive forces.
Man will not destroy himself in a nuclear holocaust of his own making. If you desire to be frightened by such a possibility, be my guest and join the crowd. I do not fear the armies with thermonuclear arsenals. May I remind you whom you should fear with this closing passage from Luke 12:4,5 – And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.”
(End Extract from “The Bottomless Pit.”)
The people on this planet are approaching the time of Jacob’s trouble, but many believe it is strictly for Israel, the descendants of Jacob. Even if you do believe that, I hope you will remember this Update when you discover the time before the pouring of the first vial is not God’s wrath, but rather his judgment on all the occupants of the earth, both on Jew and Gentile. Yes, I agree, the main trust of it will be on the Jews in Israel, but the rest of earth’s inhabitants will experience much more than they are currently anticipating.
Jeremiah 30:7 – Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
The following Scriptures delineate the specifics of what will be occurring during the time of Jacob’s trouble.
Daniel 12:1 – And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Matthew 24:21 – For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Isaiah 5:14 – Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
Isaiah 29:6 – Thou shalt be visited of the Lord of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
Luke 21:25-28 – And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; [26] Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. [27] And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
[28] And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
I assure you that the wrath of God will never be poured on his children, but God’s wrath is clearly identified as being seven vials of wrath, which all follow the blowing of the seventh trumpet. God never promised that his children would not be judged during the tribulation period, and I believe the seals and trumpets represent his judgment, not his wrath.
Revelation 16:1 – And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
I Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
We are approaching the time when, believe it or not, Israel will believe it has “Peace and safety,” but then suddenly the terrible time of Jacob’s trouble will come on them like a woman’s birth pangs, and they will not escape the last 1260 days of the tribulation period.
I Thessalonians 5:3,4 – For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. [4] But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. (See Prophecy Update Number 12 in our Archives)
Revelation 12:6 – And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. (See Birth Pangs 36 to 43 in our Archives, and Archive Prophecy Updates 5 to 11)
Zechariah 13:8 – And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. (See Prophecy Updates 92 and 93 in our Archives)
Zechariah 13:9 –And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
Begin Excerpt from San Francisco Gate (SFGate.com) via World News
Tsunami in South Pacific islands kills nearly 100
By KENI LESA and FILI SAGAPOLUTELE, Associated Press Writers
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
A massive tsunami unleashed by a powerful earthquake flattened Samoan villages and swept cars and people out to sea, killing at least 99 and leaving dozens missing Wednesday.
The death toll was expected to rise.
Survivors fled the fast-churning water for higher ground on the South Pacific islands and remained huddled there hours after the quake, with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3, struck around dawn Tuesday.
The quake was centered about 120 miles south of the islands of Samoa, which has about 180,000 people, and American Samoa, a U.S. territory of 65,000.
Four tsunami waves 15 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters) high roared ashore on American Samoa, reaching up to a mile (1.5 kilometers) inland, Mike Reynolds, superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa, was quoted as saying by a parks service spokeswoman.
Less than 24 hours later, another strong underwater earthquake rocked western Indonesia on Wednesday, briefly triggering a tsunami alert for countries along the Indian Ocean. The 7.6-magnitude quake toppled buildings, cut power and triggered a landslide on Sumatra island, and at least 75 people were reported killed. Experts said the seismic events were not related.
The Samoan capital, Apia, was virtually deserted by afternoon, with schools and businesses closed. Hours after the waves struck, sirens rang out with another tsunami alert and panicked residents headed for higher ground again, although there was no indication of a new quake.
In American Samoa’s capital of Pago Pago, the streets and fields were filled with ocean debris, mud, overturned cars and several boats as a massive cleanup effort stretched into the night. Several buildings in the city — just a few feet above sea level — were flattened. Power was expected to be out in some areas for up to a month.
In Washington, President Obama has declared a major disaster for American Samoa. Obama said in a statement early Wednesday that he and his wife, Michelle, “will keep those who have lost so much in our thoughts and prayers.”
Hampered by power and communications outages, officials in the South Pacific islands struggled to determine damage and casualties.
Samoan police commissioner Lilo Maiava told The Associated Press that police had confirmed 63 deaths but devastated areas were still being searched.
At least 30 people were killed on American Samoa, Gov. Togiola Tulafono said, adding that the toll was expected to rise from searches by emergency crews.
“I don’t think anybody is going to be spared in this disaster,” said Tulafono, who was in Hawaii for a conference. He added that a member of his extended family was among the dead.
Authorities in Tonga, southwest of the Samoas, confirmed at least six dead and four missing, according to New Zealand’s acting Prime Minister Bill English.
Joey Cummings of radio station 93KHJ in Pago Pago told the BBC that he and his colleagues watched from a balcony as a 15-foot tsunami wave struck, and “the air was filled with screams.”
He yelled for people to run uphill, “but they just ran down the street away from the wave rather than make a sharp left and up the steep mountain just feet away.”
A “river of mud” carried trees, cars, buses and boats past his building, which is practically at sea level, Cummings told the BBC.
Some people searched for trapped survivors, he said, but others looted stores. Bodies were stacked in the back of pickup trucks, he added.
Alex Godinet, chief of staff for American Samoa’s congressional delegate, said his “whole house and everything was shaking.” When he went to the nearby village of Leone, the tsunami wave had already struck and receded.
“People, elders were trying to crawl all over the place, crawl up to higher place, higher areas,” he told NBC’s “Today” show.
The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs said three Australians were among the dead. The British Foreign Office said one Briton was missing and presumed dead.
Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi looked shaken as he flew from Auckland, New Zealand, to Apia.
“So much has gone. So many people are gone,” he told reporters on board. “I’m so shocked, so saddened by all the loss.”
Malielegaoi said his own village of Lepa was destroyed.
“Thankfully, the alarm sounded on the radio and gave people time to climb to higher ground,” he said. “But not everyone escaped.”
Tulafono said that because the closeness of the community in American Samoa, “each and every family is going to be affected by someone who’s lost their life.” He spoke to reporters in Hawaii before boarding a Coast Guard C-130 plane loaded with aid and carrying Federal Emergency Management Agency officials.
A New Zealand P3 Orion maritime surveillance airplane had reached the region Wednesday and had searched for survivors off the coast, he said.
The Samoa Red Cross estimated that 15,000 people were affected by the tsunami.
New Zealander Graeme Ansell said the Samoan beach village of Sau Sau Beach Fale was leveled.
“It was very quick. The whole village has been wiped out,” Ansell told New Zealand’s National Radio from a hill near Apia. “There’s not a building standing. We’ve all clambered up hills, and one of our party has a broken leg. There will be people in a great lot of need ’round here.”
Residents of both Samoa and American Samoa said they were shaken awake by Tuesday’s quake, which lasted two to three minutes and was centered about 20 miles (30 kilometers) below the ocean floor. It was followed by at least three large aftershocks of at least 5.6 magnitude.
The quake came Tuesday morning for the Samoas, which lie just east of the international dateline. For Asia-Pacific countries on the other side of the line, it was already Wednesday.
American Samoa’s dominant industry — tuna canning — was also affected. Chicken of the Sea’s packing plant was forced to close, although the facility wasn’t damaged, the San Diego-based company said.
The effects of the tsunami could be felt nearly 5,000 miles away (7,500 kilometers) on a Japanese island, though there were no reports of damage or injuries there.
U.S. officials said strong currents and dangerous waves were forecast from California to Washington state. No major flooding was expected, however.
While the earthquake and tsunami were big, they were not on the same scale of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, said Brian Atwater of the U.S. Geological Survey in Seattle. That tsunami killed more than 230,000 in a dozen countries across Asia.
[…….]
Sagapolutele reported from Pago Pago, American Samoa. Associated Press writers Ray Lilley in Wellington, New Zealand; Jaymes Song and Herbert A. Sample in Honolulu, Cara Anna in Bangkok and Seth Borenstein and Michele Salcedo in Washington contributed to this report.
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