tsunami in america
A tsunami alert has been issued for western Indonesia, following a 7.9 earthquake just off the coast of Sumatra.
According to Reuters news agency, the quake damaged houses and bridges, and caused fires in the city of Padang, Sumatra. Shaking could be felt in the capital, Jakarta and in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has issued a tsunami alert for Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Thailand.
The new quake comes on the heels of a magnitude 8.0 that struck yesterday in the south Pacific Ocean. The quake triggered a tsunami to rush ashore the islands of Samoa and America Samoa, flooding and flattening villages.
The death toll now tops 140 people.
Cars and people were swept out to sea by the fast churning water as survivors fled to higher ground.
The towering tsunami waves struck early Tuesday (6:48 a.m. local time), following a powerful Pacific Ocean earthquake with a magnitude of between 8.0 and 8.3.
America Samoa is a U.S. territory that is about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. About 65,000 people live there and another 175,000 live on Samoa, which is an independent country.
