Earthquakes in American Samoa, 1927–2026

One earthquake here in these years is on NOAA’s list of significant earthquakes. NOAA records no deaths for it. NOAA lists one tsunami that began in or off American Samoa, and 3 from elsewhere that reached it with deaths or a metre of water or more. The highest water NOAA records here was 17.59 m, on September 29, 2009.

• September 29, 2009Tsunami · 17.59 m hereSamoa IslandsNOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
• September 28, 2006Earthquake · M 6.9201 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaUSGS · NOAA NCEI
• October 7, 2003Earthquake · M 6.2246 km SSE of Vaitogi, American SamoaUSGS
• September 27, 1972Earthquake · M 6.2203 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaUSGS
• August 7, 1972Earthquake · M 6.1209 km ESE of Hihifo, TongaUSGS

• An event counts for American Samoa when it began inside its borders, or at sea within 100 km of its coast (so one can count for two neighbours), or further out, up to 300 km, where American Samoa is the nearest country.
• USGS counts here start at magnitude 6: the catalogue’s smaller quakes thin out going back, where few instruments listened.
• NOAA lists significant events only: earthquakes that killed, did about $1 million of damage, reached magnitude 7.5 or intensity X, or raised a tsunami, and eruptions and tsunamis by like measures. Magnitudes before 1900 are its estimates from written accounts.
• Deaths are NOAA’s total for each event, wherever people died, its tsunami and fires included. A tsunami counts the dead its runup records give for this place: NOAA’s total for a tsunami includes its source quake’s.
• A tsunami from elsewhere counts where one of its runups killed or rose a metre or more.
• The map frames the box around American Samoa, its neighbours’ quakes included, so its count runs higher than this page’s.
• Counted to October 19, 2026, as is the map. The last 30 days ask USGS again.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Earthquakes, live, The world through history