PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (AP) — Officials in American Samoa say at least 14 people were killed when a tsunami swept ashore in the South Pacific country after a powerful earthquake hit nearby.

Mase Akapo, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, says the deaths occurred in four different villages on the main island of Tutuila, with six in the western area of Leone.

An unspecified number of people also were killed in neighboring Samoa.

The eartquake had a magnitude of up to 8.3 as it struck between Samoa and American Samoa around dawn Tuesday, sending terrified residents fleeing for higher ground.

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