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Magnitude 7.9 Date-Time * Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 17:48:14 UTC * Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 06:48:14 AM at epicenter Location 15.554°S, 172.141°W Depth 35 km (21.7 miles) set by location program Region SAMOA ISLANDS REGION Distances * 199 km (124 miles) SSW (192°) from APIA, Samoa * 211 km (131 miles) SW (227°) from PAGO PAGO, American Samoa * 396 km (246 miles) NNE (30°) from Neiafu, Tonga * 2415 km (1501 miles) W (272°) from PAPEETE, Tahiti, French Polynesia Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 11.9 km (7.4 miles); depth fixed by location program Parameters NST= 59, Nph= 59,...

Tsunami aims at Philippines after quake 5 minutes ago TOKYO - A 3-foot-high tsunami was headed for the eastern coast of the Philippines on Tuesday after an earthquake struck off the coast of Taiwan. The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.2, Japan's Meteorological Agency reported.

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HIKKADUWA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - British surfer Martin Markwell had always dreamed of catching that perfect wave -- but when it finally came along, it was a nightmare. Markwell was paddling on his surfboard Sunday off the popular Hikkaduwa beach resort on Sri Lanka's palm-fringed southern coast when he was swept up by a tsunami wave and sent crashing over a white sand beach and into a hotel restaurant. "It was really terrible because I was surfing, I was really surfing on a wave I wasn't supposed to be on," he told Reuters. "As an experienced surfer, when I saw...

India for the first time decides not to raise new tax for the Tsunami relief – shows financial strength of the current IndiaFor the first time India, after being struck with a disaster or war has decided that there is no need for new tax. The country can manage to pay for the relief and rescue operation. That is a great difference between Old India and New India. India's finance minister Mr. Chidambaram ruled out a special tax to pay for the relief of victims of the tsunami disaster at the weekend. He said it would not be necessary because...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 - Rejecting a United Nations official's suggestion that it had been a "stingy" aid donor, the Bush administration on Tuesday announced another $20 million in relief for victims of the Asian earthquake and tsunamis and dispatched an aircraft carrier and other ships to the region for possible relief operations. The announcement brought the United States' total aid package to $35 million so far, and Bush administration officials said much more would be sent. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, displaying irritation with the suggestion of American stinginess, said the United States had been the most generous of...

JAKARTA (AFP) - The confirmed number of people killed in the massive earthquake and tidal waves that struck Indian Ocean shorelines at the weekend passed 67,000, amid warnings the true toll could be far higher. In Indonesia a health ministry spokesman said the country's toll was more than 36,200 after it took the full force of Sunday's huge earthquake and tidal waves that swallowed entire coastal villages. In Sri Lanka 18,000 people, including at least 70 foreigners, were killed by the tidal waves. The death toll in India crossed 10,850 with many thousands still missing, officials said. More than 1,650...

  Sea surges kill thousands in Asia -tragedia"9,500 people have been killed" -- Yahoo News now says the death toll is nearing 12,000. This is an enormous tragedy.  Tsunamis hit south India; over 1,800 dead  Bodies line south India beaches; tsunami kills up to 3,000  Personal reports from the Asian disaster    Chittagong, Bangladesh has been hit by a 7.36 quake -- So, don't they say that when there's a big earthquake there's usually one on the opposite side of the globe? Because the closest big fault opposite this one seems to be the New Madrid...      IRIS Seismic Monitoring...