Why Did The Earthquake Occur In Samoa's Tsunami

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On the 29th September 2009 at exactly 6:48, Samoa was hit by a Tsunami. The Tsunami was created by an earthquake, measurement of 8.3, this tragedy put Samoa into an economic disaster, leaving families homeless, starving, with unclean water and feeling helpless. Not only did it hit Samoa, but it also hit some countries nearby. How and why did the earthquake occur in Samoa? The earth's crusts are separate rocks also known as tectonic plates. It is the outermost layer of our planet. The earth's layer is made up of rocks. It consists of many different kinds. Igneous rocks and metamorphic rocks are the main group of rocks. Oceanic crust is made up of basaltic rocks (fine-grained volcanic rock). Earthquakes happen when two tectonic plates of the …show more content…

How did the Tsunami affect them? Tsunamis occur when earthquakes happen underwater. When two tectonic plates come together, one plate pushes beneath the other plate, this action causes much friction between the two plates, which also causes the top plate to be pulled along with the plate going beneath the other plate. This doesn't take moments, it takes thousands of years because it is a slow process. So, then the pressure of the top plate takes charge and flips upwards and causes a megathrust, an unexpected move in the ocean which creates an epic but terrifying tsunami. The created series of waves go in all separate directions. Some of the waves would go and meet the nearest land, and some waves would just disappear. If the waves do meet land they wouldn't be as tall and wide as they were when they were first formed because the waves had travelled a long way. The tsunami struck the islands of Savai'i, Upolu, and Tutuila (Samoa) minutes after the earthquake happened, Waves that were ten feet in Samoa, and in America Samoa, Pago Pago the waves were around 4.6 …show more content…

Some people had heard the warning and hurried to the nearest mountain they saw. People in Samoa, America Samoa and Tonga lost their homes, some still have missing family members, villages were entirely damaged, they had contaminated water and there was no food to eat. The combination of Samoa and America Samoa were homeless because there was not a single building that was not unharmed by the quake and Tsunami. There were 862 buildings that were demolished, 14 schools that needed rebuilding and 5274 people lost their homes. Men and women waited for a long time before they could go back to work, children remained as well before they could go back to school and learn. New Zealand, Australia and the United states were some of the countries that had reached out to Samoa, who were in need of urgent help. New Zealand had given Samoa $12 million to assist with emergency support, and reconstruction. In addition, they had sent vehicles, staff and emergency supplies. Oxfam (a charity in New Zealand) had sent medical staff, and supplies to assist. Overall, countries from around the world were giving Samoa the support and resources for them to recover from the agonizing

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