Samoa hit by 5.5 magnitude earthquake

by D.S.Rajput | December 25, 2009 at 08:52 pm

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New Delhi: South pacific Ocean country Samoa hit by earthquake. A moderate earthquake struck off the south Pacific island state of Samoa on Saturday. But there was no tsunami alert and no immediate report of damage. The US Geological Survey said the 5.5-magnitude quake struck at 0334 IST around 281 kilometres south south-west of the capital Apia.

Samoa is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in Polynesia Savai'i. The capital city Apia and Faleolo International Airport are situated on the island of Upolu. Samoa was admitted to the United Nations on 15 December 1976. The entire island group, inclusive of American Samoa, was called Navigators Islands by European explorers before the 20th century because of the Samoans' seafaring skills