National Weather Service Issues Tsunami Advisory For U.S. West Coast

National Weather Service issues tsunami advisory for U.S. West Coast9/29/2009 9:30:58 PM


HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- At least 34 people were killed in Samoa and American Samoa after a tsunami ripped across the South Pacific following an earthquake, according to reports Wednesday.

The death toll is expected to rise as more information on conditions in coastal regions becomes available, the reports said.

An 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck about 120 miles off the Samoan coast at 6:48 a.m. local time, triggering 15-foot waves, reports said.

Samoa is a small nation of about 220,000 people, and American Samoa is a U.S. territory with about 65,000 people.

The National Weather Service's tsunami warning center issued a tsunami advisory related to the quake for the U.S. West Coast from the Mexican border to the Oregon-Washington border, the service said late Tuesday.

The center said no widespread inundation was expected for any of the areas, but that large waves and strong currents could lead to dangerous conditions and the public was advised to avoid swimming and boating.

"Persons in tsunami advisory areas should move out of the water...off the beach and out of harbors and marinas," the advisory said.

Japan's meteorological agency also issued a tsunami alert for its Pacific shores, warning that wave of up to 50 centimeters were expected