Tsunami Watch

Lisa writes:

Hi Marc~
Web page / pic that you may find interesting:

Wow! Cool picture - looks almost like a polished geode, or semi-precious concretion of some sort.

But it's bad news, of course. I hope the tsunami is a tame one:

A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of up to 8.3 struck off the South Pacific island nation of Samoa on Tuesday, triggering a tsunami as coastal residents fled to higher ground.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said waves 1.57 metres (five feet) tall hit American Samoa, while 0.7 metre waves were recorded in Samoa.

The centre had earlier issued a tsunami warning for a large swathe of the South Pacific including Fiji, New Zealand and Tonga after the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported a 7.9 magnitude quake.

The centre later said an 8.3 magnitude quake had been recorded at a depth of 33 kilometres (21 miles). It was not immediately clear if this was the same quake and the USGS's website did not provide exact details of its location.

"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated," said a statement from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.

"It may have been destructive along coasts neat the earthquake epicentre and could alo be a threat to more distant coasts. Authorities should take appropriate action in response to this possibility."