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Home » Special Events » Magnitude 8.0 earthquake in the Samoa Islands region, Pacific Ocean
last updated: 09/29/09 13:45.26 (PDT)
On Tuesday September 29 2009 at 10:48 AM (PDT) the USArray seismic network recorded an earthquake (preliminary Mw 8.0) located in the Samoa Islands region, Pacific Ocean.
Initial source parameters for this tremor are indicated below. The epicentral distance (i.e. distance separating the epicenter and the closest station in the recording network, SCI2) for the USArray is 7830 km (70.34 degrees).
If you felt the quake, the USGS would like to know. Please add your comments to the USGS page "Did you feel it?".
Summary
| Solution Parameters | |
|---|---|
| Local Date: | Tuesday September 29, 2009 |
| Local Time: | 10:48 AM PST |
| Universal Time: | 09/29/09 (272) 17:48.11 UTC |
| Magnitude: | 8.0 Mw |
| Latitude: | -15.5580 |
| Longitude: | -172.0730 |
| Depth: | 18 km |
| Author: | USGS NEIC |
| Authoritative: | yes |
Proximity to Population Centers
- 185 km (115 miles) ENE of Hihifo, Tonga
- 195 km (125 miles) S of Apia, Samoa
- 705 km (435 miles) NNE of Nuku'Alofa, Tonga
- 2700 km (1670 miles) NNE of Auckland, New Zealand
Maps
Mercator projection regional view
The red star denotes the earthquake epicenter. Triangle symbols are active stations at the time of the earthquake in the USArray (excluding ANSS backbone stations and GSN stations, which are represented by a diamond symbol) and colored by network. Gray lines are major rivers.
| Transportable Array (TA) | |
| UC San Diego (AZ) | |
| CalTech (CI) | |
| Uni. Utah (UU) | |
| ANSS backbone stations (US) | |
| Global Seismograph Network (IU) |
Regional satellite view
The red marker denotes the earthquake epicenter.
Detailed terrain view
The red marker denotes the earthquake epicenter.
Waveforms
You may view plots showing this event as recorded by USArray instruments:
- 3 components recorded by SCI2, the closest USArray station to the event
- Large 3 components recorded by SCI2, the closest USArray station to the event
- Vertical components from every eighth USArray station that recorded the event across the whole network
3 components recorded by SCI2, the closest USArray station to the event:
Tsunami propagation map.
Last updated: 2009-09-29 4:00 PDT
Source: NOAA West Coast & Alaska Tsunami Warning Center
News links
- USGS page for this event
- CNN: "Samoan Islands earthquake generates small tsunamis"
- BBC News: "Powerful quake off Samoa islands"
- Bloomberg.com: "Tsunami Warning in Effect After 7.9 South Pacific Earthquake"
Tsunami information
Search the internet
To search the internet for more information about this event, click on the button below:
Current seismic activity measured by USArray
Click the links below to observe near real time maps of earthquakes recorded by the USArray deployment:
Further information
Learn more about the Array Network Facility (ANF) component of USArray, the USArray experiment, the EarthScope project, and the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS).
