A South Pacific tsunami killed this morning shortly before 7 a.m. local time over 100 people in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga caused by a magnitude-8 earthquake, which was located about 204 km southwest of Samoa. A number of coastal villages were swept away and warnings have been prompted that waves may also hit Japan and the U.S. west coast.

According to local media reports, villages on south coast of Upolu island, the main island of Samoa, had been extensively damaged by this tsunami. It sent waves of up to 800 metres inland.

Manono, the main village on another small island, has also been reported to be underwater, but many residents of this island were sent to higher ground before the tsunami hit. According to reports the warning and evacuation procedures had worked well and most residents on Samoa among the population of 220,000 in the 400 kms of coastline were moved before the tsunami hit.

Lot of panic was there when the tsunami hit as children were preparing for school and people for work reports Radio New Zealand. Tipi Autagavaia, the correspondent of Radio New Zealand said on a broadcast, “My kids were preparing to go to school and were all crying and screaming… It was a big, big shock to most people, because it is the first time they have experienced such a very strong earthquake.”

This earthquake was one of the biggest. Magnitude-8.1 had hit east of Kuril Islands in Russia in January 2007.

According to e-mailed statement from the White House, President Barack Obama declared it to be a “major disaster” in American Samoa.