Tsunami Hits Samoan Islands

A magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred in the South Pacific today generating a tsunami that struck the Samoa islands. The tsunami waves were 3-5 feet tall, with some reports of 12-15 foot waves, and swept inland by up to a mile. Some news reports are saying that up to 100 people may have been killed with hundreds more injured. The waves swept people and cars from the Pacific islands. Dozens of workers from National Park Service facilities are missing. The full measure of death and destruction remains unclear because of power and communication outages.

A tsunami warning was issued for Hawaii earlier today, but has since been canceled. However, a tsunami advisory remains in effect for the California and Oregon. Here's the text of the advisory from the Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska:

...A TSUNAMI ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT WHICH INCLUDES THE
  COASTAL AREAS OF CALIFORNIA AND OREGON FROM THE
  CALIFORNIA-MEXICO BORDER TO THE OREGON-WASHINGTON BORDER...

PERSONS IN TSUNAMI ADVISORY AREAS SHOULD MOVE OUT OF THE
WATER... OFF THE BEACH AND OUT OF HARBORS AND MARINAS.

TSUNAMI ADVISORIES MEAN THAT A TSUNAMI CAPABLE OF PRODUCING
STRONG CURRENTS OR WAVES DANGEROUS TO PERSONS IN OR VERY NEAR
WATER IS IMMINENT OF EXPECTED. SIGNIFICANT WIDESPREAD INUNDATION
IS NOT EXPECTED FOR AREAS IN AN ADVISORY.