Tsunami in American Samoa, September 29, 2009

Name: Tsunami in American Samoa, September 29, 2009
Start: 2009-09-29T06:48
End: 2009-09-29T10:36
Location: American Samoa

September 29, 2009 · NWS ASO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

9 earthquake that occurred about 120 miles southwest of Pago Pago. The wave went inland as far as 1 mile.

The toll

Deaths: 32
Injuries: 148
Property damage: $81 million
Crop damage: $20,000
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS ASO wrote it up.

A tsunami wave affected all of American Samoa including neighboring Samoan Islands.|The tsunami was generated by a 7.9 earthquake that occurred about 120 miles southwest of Pago Pago. The wave went inland as far as 1 mile. The height of the waves ranged from 15 feet at Pago Pago harbor to 40 feet at Poloa village on the Island of Tutuila. There were 32 confirmed deaths and 2 are still missing to date. Several marinas and vehicles were heavily damaged; businesses, homes, schools and coastal roads were either flooded or destroyed. The American Samoa Power plant was also damaged on the Island of Tutuila, and the government graveyard site was unearthed by strong tsunami waves.These damages amounted to $81 million.

Event by event

1 tsunami. Local standard time, as filed.

Tsunami, Tutuila

When: September 29, 6:48 AM SST to 10:36 AM SST
Where: Tutuila forecast zone
Deaths: 32 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 129 direct, 19 indirect
Property damage: $81 million
Crop damage: $20,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager

A 7.9 earthquake occurred about 120 miles southwest of Pago Pago and it shook the |entire Samoan and Tongan region. The earthquake occurred around 648 am |Samoan local time, and it took within 15 minutes for the tsunami waves to reach the Samoan Islands.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	46	Male	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	65	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	44	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	42	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	48	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	38	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	34	Male	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	62	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	59	Male	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	36	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	36	Male	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	61	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	78	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	65	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	38	Male	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	63	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	76	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	61	Male	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	48	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	63	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	49	Female	Unknown	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	67	Male	Boating	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	20	Female	Business	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	69	Female	Outside/Open Areas	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	6	Female	Outside/Open Areas	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	70	Female	Outside/Open Areas	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	7	Female	Outside/Open Areas	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	56	Male	Permanent Home	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	72	Female	Permanent Structure	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	21	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	5	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct
Tsunami, Tutuila	2009-09-29	46	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

What these are

Tsunami: A series of waves caused by an undersea earthquake, landslide or eruption.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in American Samoa in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in American Samoa, September 2009

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 204396.