Tsunami roared to the shores at the speed of a 747 jumbo jet
WASHINGTON: Science and geography combined so that the residents of American Samoa did not stand much of a chance.
Almost all the conditions that trigger bad tsunamis were in place this week, producing waves that roared toward the island territory at the speed of a 747 jumbo jet.
There was nothing to slow it down.
It started with the type of earthquake that tends to generate the strongest tsunamis.
The first of a series of tsunami waves approaches the shore at the Ulimasao Marist Center in Vailoa in Samoa Tuesday (Wed Malaysian time). The photo was taken by Matthew Putt, one of a group of students from Sacred Heart College in Auckland New Zealand, who were on a school trip to Samoa. - AP
It was one of the biggest on record for that type of seismic disruption.
It shook just below the ocean floor, under thousands of feet (meters) of water, causing huge waves.
That deeper water meant greater speed for the tsunami. American Samoa was about 125 miles (200 kilometers) from the epicenter and at just the right angle, leaving little time for people to get to high ground.
AP
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