8.0 magnitude earthquake hits Samoa

WELLINGTON, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- A strong earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale struck the Pacific island nation of Samoa on early Wednesday, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) said.

Christopher Moore (L) and Visily Titov of NOAA look at computer graphs at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, concerning the earthquake and tsunami that hit American Samoa September 29, 2009. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

The quake, occurred at 6:48 a.m. local time (17:48 GMT Tuesday), was centered 195 km south of the Samoa capital of Apia. It was at a depth of 18 km.

The quake has caused casualties and damages.

A tsunami warning had been issued by the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

The warning covers Samoa, American Samoa, New Zealand, Niue, Wallis-Futuna, Tokelau, Cook Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Kermadec Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Howland-Baker, Jarvis Isand Palmyra Is.

A tsunami has hit Samoa following the earthquake.

Xie Yancun, a diplomat from the Chinese Embassy to Samoa, told Xinhua in a telephone interview that the strong quake jolted him awake, he evacuated from the house immediately. Then, he experienced aftershocks. Later he found some items dropped on the floor in his office.

Xie said it was a very strong quake and many local people have been evacuated to the mountain in Apia following the tsunami warning.

Five people in Samoa were confirmed to have been killed by a tsunami following the quake, Radio New Zealand International reported on Wednesday.