Eyewitnesses to the devastating tsunami that struck the Pacific islands of Western and American Samoa have told Radio Netherlands Worldwide they had only 15 minutes to try and outrun the waves after first warnings were issued.Over 100 people are feared dead after a heavy tsunami hit the islands. It was caused by a powerful earthquake southwest of American Samoa, registering 8.0 on the Richter scale. Villages and holiday resorts on the southern coast of the islands have been destroyed completely, according to eyewitnesses. The epicentre of the quake was located some 190 kilometres southwest of American Samoa, striking at a depth of 33 kilometres. The Samoa islands consist of two entities - the nation of Samoa or Western Samoa and American Samoa, a US territory, with a total population of about 250,000 people. A Pacific-wide tsunami warning was issued after the earthquake, with small tsunamis reaching New Zealand, Hawaii, Tonga and Japan. These did not cause major damage and large scale evacuations were not necessary.
Over 100 people are feared dead after a heavy tsunami hit the islands. It was caused by a powerful earthquake southwest of American Samoa, registering 8.0 on the Richter scale. Villages and holiday resorts on the southern coast of the islands have been destroyed completely, according to eyewitnesses.
The epicentre of the quake was located some 190 kilometres southwest of American Samoa, striking at a depth of 33 kilometres. The Samoa islands consist of two entities - the nation of Samoa or Western Samoa and American Samoa, a US territory, with a total population of about 250,000 people. A Pacific-wide tsunami warning was issued after the earthquake, with small tsunamis reaching New Zealand, Hawaii, Tonga and Japan. These did not cause major damage and large scale evacuations were not necessary.
Victims of floods in the Philippines trudged through ankle-deep sludge to crowded relief centres in search of scarce food and clean water today, as the government strained to distribute supplies, dig out the sprawling capital and prevent looting.The toll from tropical storm Ketsana and the ensuing floods, the south-east Asian country's worst in four decades, climbed to 246 dead, with 38 still missing.Ketsana, which hit the Philippines on Saturday, strengthened further and crashed into central Vietnam today.At least 23 people died - drowned, caught in mudslides or hit by falling trees, officials said. Some 170,000 people were evacuated from the path of the storm."The rivers are rising, and many homes are flooded, and several mountainous districts have been isolated by mudslides," said Nguyen Minh Tuan, a provincial disaster official in Vietnam.
Victims of floods in the Philippines trudged through ankle-deep sludge to crowded relief centres in search of scarce food and clean water today, as the government strained to distribute supplies, dig out the sprawling capital and prevent looting.
The toll from tropical storm Ketsana and the ensuing floods, the south-east Asian country's worst in four decades, climbed to 246 dead, with 38 still missing.
Ketsana, which hit the Philippines on Saturday, strengthened further and crashed into central Vietnam today.At least 23 people died - drowned, caught in mudslides or hit by falling trees, officials said. Some 170,000 people were evacuated from the path of the storm.
"The rivers are rising, and many homes are flooded, and several mountainous districts have been isolated by mudslides," said Nguyen Minh Tuan, a provincial disaster official in Vietnam.
A fatal powerful earthquake has struck off the city of Padang on Indonesia's Sumatra, killing many and leaving thousands more trapped. The quake follows another off Sumatra the day before that triggered a tsunami. <Reuters - A powerful earthquake struck off the city of Padang on Indonesia's Sumatra island on Wednesday, killing at least 75 people and trapping thousands under rubble, officials said. The death toll was likely to rise as many buildings in the city of 900,000 people had collapsed, Vice President Jusuf Kalla told a late night news conference in Jakarta. "We have received a report from the mayor of Padang that the death toll is 75. But many others are trapped in collapsed shops, building and hotels. It is difficult to know because it is dark now," Kalla said.
