(Newser) – An 8.3-magnitude earthquake struck the area around American Samoa today, generating a tsunami that killed as many as 34 in the US territory and adjacent Samoa, an independent state. The waves at Pago Pago were 5.1 feet above normal—smaller than originally feared— but tsunami warnings went up briefly throughout the South Pacific, with a watch in effect as far away as Hawaii. Widespread damage included the flattening of one entire village.



"I can confirm there is damage, I can confirm there are deaths and I can confirm there are casualties," a police rep in Samoa told Reuters.

(Read more tsunami stories.)

