Tsunami...

Tsunami near American Samoa kills 34, triggers regional alert

President Obama declared Tuesday's tsunami a 'major disaster' and dispatched aid to American Samoa. As many as 120 people may have died, and more tsunamis could hit.

By David Montero

A powerful tsunami sent walls of water shooting onto the islands of American Samoa and Samoa on Tuesday, wiping away entire villages and claiming at least 34 lives and possibly as many as 120. Authorities in neighboring Tonga feared many were killed there as well, after a 13-foot wave crashed into the coast.

The tsunami was triggered by an 8.0-magnitude earthquake that caused tremors in Hawaii, raised sea levels in New Zealand, and sent a tsunami warning throughout the South Pacific.

With the death toll expected to rise, United States President Barack Obama declared the tsunami a major disaster and dispatched a C-130 cargo plane to American Samoa, an US territory, to deliver relief aid.

Hawaii was spared from the waves, but a tsunami advisory has been put in effect for California, where waters could rise by up to 60 cm (24 in) along a strip of coast from Santa Cruz to San Francisco. Authorities, however, do not expect any major damage in California, according to the Bay Area’s Kron 4 television website.

According to eyewitness reports, a series of four crushing waves – some reportedly 15 feet high – slammed into the capital of American Samoa sometime after 7 a.m., whipping houses and cars out to sea and burying bodies under mounds of sand, reports Reuters. The entire southern side of the island was reported to be devastated.

The governor of America Samoa, Togiola T.A. Tulafono, reported extensive damage to the western and southern sides of the island, and said the damaged roads were hampering rescue efforts, reports the Associated Press.

Some 65,000 people inhabit the island of American Samoa, and about 220,000 live on Samoa. Police on both islands were working to move people to higher ground.

Foreign governments, meanwhile, including the US, New Zealand, and Australia, were rushing to send aid to the ravaged areas. New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Bill English, reported that some of his country’s Air Force planes were already on the way to the area. And Australian authorities were coordinating with New Zealand to dispatch emergency relief personnel and supplies, reports the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

President Obama’s declaration of a major disaster means that federal funds will be made available immediately for the relief effort. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was also preparing to send two emergency teams to the region, as well as supplies that had been prepositioned in Hawaii, reports Agence France-Presse.

Eni Faleomavaega, a congressman for American Samoa, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that FEMA had learned valuable lessons from disaster relief during hurricane Katrina that would now be put into effect.

“Well let me just say that we’ve learned our lesson from Katrina and I’m quite sure we’re already making preparations right now to send aircrafts to provide the necessary supplies - food, equipment, whatever’s needed,” he said.




Source : The Christian Science Monitor

Apa aku kata:
Sewaktu saya di pejabat sekitar 6.00 petang dalam persiapan untuk pulang ke rumah dan temujanji bersama teman, saya dikejutkan dengan gegaran yang agak kuat. Pejabat saya berada ditingkat empat terasa seakan-akan digoyang dengan kuat.

Gegaran selama 10 saat, pada mulanya membuatkan saya sedikit kebingungan. Pintu yang bersebelahan (pintu kecemasan) dengan pantri kami bergetar dan saya menjangkakan ada orang berada dibelakang pintu tersebut. Tetapi saya tidak mengendahkan keadaan tersebut. Bila kaki mulai melangkah ke pintu keluar, getaran tersebut semakin kuat dan daun pintu bergetar lagi. Saya mulai memerhatikan keadaan sekeliling dan cubicle kelihatan getaran yang ketara pada cubicle pejabat.

Dengan tenang, saya turun ke bawah dengan menuruni tangga dan mendapati ramai juga orang lain yang sudah menunggu di tanah lapang.

Ini adalah pengalaman kedua saya merasa getaran, kesan daripada gempa bumi di Pulau Nias, dua tahun lalu. Pengalam tersebut saya rasa sewaktu bekerja sekitar 3 petang.

Mari kita doakan kepada mangsa, keluarga dan negara yang terlibat agar mereka dikuatkan dan pintu terbuka untuk menerima kembali Yesus. Ada mesej yang Tuhan sampaikan lewat gempa tersebut.

Teringat bait-bait lirik Hatiku Percaya oleh True Worshippers "WALAU BUMI BERGUNCANG, GUNUNG-GUNUNG BERANJAK, NAMUN KASIH SETIA-MU TAK PERGI DARIKU."


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