WASHINGTON: US scientists were concerned by the force with which Samoa was hit by a tsunami after a major earthquake nearby, the National Tsunami Warning Center said Tuesday.
A 8.3-magnitude earthquake Tuesday off Samoa has triggered a tsunami warning across a large swath of the Pacific Ocean including New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji, the Hawaii-based center said.
"It looks as if the (wave) predictions are getting smaller, so we are fairly hopeful, though we know Samoa got hit hard," the center''s David Walsh told media from Ewa Beach, Hawaii.
"Just a moment ago we took the state of Hawaii out of the Tsunami watch" though many countries in the western and southwestern Pacific faced a threat, Walsh warned.
"We are running models and looking at tide data to see what needs to be done," he explained.
Once "no major waves are observed for two hours after the estimated time of arrival or damaging waves have not occurred for at least two hours then local authorities can assume the threat is passed," the center said in a statement.
"Danger to boats and coastal structures can continue for several hours due to rapid currents. As local conditions can cause a wide variation in tsunami wave action the all clear determination must be made by local authorities," it added