NEWS AND NOTES
Blue Water Sailing
September 30, 2009
Tsunami Has Taken At Least 111 Lives in South Pacific Islands
NOAA's Tsunami Warning Center reported Wednesday, "At 3:16 AM Pacific Daylight Time on September 30, an earthquake with preliminary magnitude 7.7 occurred southern Sumatera, Indonesia."
Tsunami waves following the strong earthquake estimated to have occurred at least 54 miles deep in the Pacific Ocean, have killed at least 34 people in the Samoan islands, Tonga and American Samoa. The waves devastated coastal areas, knocking down buildings and sending cars floating out to sea. Survivors fled to high ground and stayed there for hours. Officials are working to assess the number of victims and the extent of the damage. CNN news agency reports the Samoan disaster management agency as saying up to 111 people have been killed on Samoa alone.
BWS received this first-hand report from John and Amanda Neal in Apia:
"Talofa from Apia, Samoa. I guess you've probably already heard there was an 8.3 earthquake at 6:50am 150 mi south of Samoa.
We just arrived in Apia yesterday afternoon and Amanda and I were on our morning run exploring downtown Apia when the street started shaking. We kept running, back toward the new yacht harbor, and after about 90 seconds the quake stopped.
Minutes after we arrived back in the harbor the civil defense sirens went off and police and fire and marina staff directed everyone to run for the hills.
The water in the marina started really surging up and down, dropping lower after each surge in. One cat and one mono made it out with lots of current sweeping them out. One of the ferries that goes to Pago took off. We decided to run as the marina entrance is shallow normally, and has several coral heads that would have been shallower than our depth with the water going out.
We ran along the waterfront to the first road going inland, and followed a moving mass of people, cars and trucks up the hills.
The smart yachties headed for Aggie Grey's hotel where hotel staff welcomed them and sent them to the top floors where they had a great view of the harbor going dry for several hundred yards out.
The "all clear" was just issued an hour or so ago. A school on the eastern end of Upolu Island collapsed, the radio says at least three children have died and more are trapped in the wreckage.
Word from Pago Pago is that one yacht anchored in 30' hit bottom when the water went out and the airport was washed in places with 2' of water.
Anyway, we're just finishing up an expedition and have eight days off before heading to Wallis, Futuna and Fiji."
John and Amanda run Mahina Expeditions. John is a regular contributor to BWS and BWS sponsors his seminars and expeditions.
At the capital of American Samoa, Pago Pago, the tsunami wave measured 1.57 meters in height. The superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa, Mike Reynolds reported four tsunami waves as high as six meters. Strong aftershocks followed the initial earthquake, with at least one measuring a magnitude 5.6. Tsunami alerts were issued for the entire South Pacific region but were later canceled. The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the earthquake struck about 180 kilometers east of Tonga in the South Pacific, at a depth of 18 kilometers.
Experts say the quake took place midway between Samoa and American Samoa. The Samoan Islands are in the southern Pacific Ocean, about halfway between New Zealand and the Hawaiian Islands. From: Voice of America Online/ CNN.
And, this just in from S/V Brick House in Samoa:
"BRICK HOUSE CREW SAVED FROM TSUNAMI BY BROKEN FREEZER
Our second year anniversary of cruising got off to a shaky start. We rose with the sun to catch a bus from the north end of Savaii, Samoa, so we could go to the vegetable market then swim in a waterfall, all on the south east side of the island. There was a delay though. Patrick noticed the temperature on the freezer was too high and had to do something to save our frozen food before we could leave on our field trip. Two hours later, while screw drivers and electrical parts littered the galley, Brick House started vibrating. It was like a sail luffing. We were at anchor in a beautiful tropical cove, flat turquoise water and little wind. The owners of one of the other 2 boats anchored nearby were on deck wondering what was going on, the owners of the other boat slept through it. Thirty seconds later the vibrating stopped. An hour after that, we were able to continue our morning and dinghy to shore.
Pulling the dinghy to the high tide line of the sand beach at the local hotel, we quickly learned that all tourists and any willing locals had been evacuated to high up on the mountain side. We were in the middle of a tsunami warning. We watched the water over the white sand recede as the ocean level on a tide post dropped a foot and a half. At that level we would not be able to motor back over the reef to get to Brick House nearly a half mile away. Then, within a few minutes, the water started coming in again. As the water rose to the red mark, the high tide mark on the post, we jumped in the dinghy and shot over the reef to the deep water where Brick House was anchored. Soon the last of the hotel crew was evacuated to the mountain, leaving just a few foolhardy locals, and us yachties, at sea level.
We did not stop at Brick House but shot to the other cruising boat which was anchored much too close to shore, on the other side of the cove. We needed to alert the still sleeping owners about the danger they were in. Any large waves would certainly break over their boat. They quickly re-anchored in deep water near us.
The local FM radio gave us some information saying that the worst of the situation was probably over. Soon the tsunami warning was lifted. We were safe but the guys on the other two boats grabbed their surfboards to catch the last of the big rollers breaking on the outer reef and curling into the deep water anchorage.
Its funny how in the US when a natural disaster happens, there is more news than ever.here they cancelled the noontime news report due to the disaster. Scattered details started trickling in. By late afternoon the death toll in Samoa and American Samoa was up to 131 people. Many were found buried in sand. Most of the destroyed homes and cars washing out into the ocean occurred on the south side of the islands. Many villages were completely leveled. We hear, also, that a 5 foot waved washed through Papo Pago harbor in American Samoa, sending water a mile inland. The entrance to that secure harbor is on the south side of the island. We have friends who were anchored in Pago Pago and other friends tied to docks there. We are very anxious to communicate with them and hear they are safe. Rebecca spent much of the day listening to news, talking on the SSB, and sending/receiving emails through SSB.
New Zealand Red Cross is taking donations to help with the situation in Samoa while President Obama is sending aid to American Samoa.
Now the north Cook islands are reporting serious damage, and 5 are dead in the northern island of NiueTapuTapu, Tonga."
Rebecca and Patrick Childress
s/v Brick House
Photos:
1.This photo shows an aerial view of Hihifo on the western side of Tonga Tuesday, Sept. 29 2009.
2. This graphic provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows tsunami travel times after earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 rocked Samoa./AFP.NOAA.
3. The aftermath of a powerful earthquake is seen in Pago Pago village, on American Samoa, AP.
4. A boat is stranded among wreckage after a tsunami hit the village of Si'umu in Western Samoa/Reuters.
