Usually I get woken up with a face full of kitten whiskers. This morning I jolted upright out of bed as my entire fale was shaking around 6 in the morning.

We've had a few quakes since we arrived in Apia in October of last year, but nothing like this. My house is built of concrete and cinder blocks and is a seriously solid structure. But this morning it was blowing in the breeze like a reed.

Here's the story from the Samoa Observer:

Samoa wakes to tremors

by Gerard P Williams
29 March 2003

Samoa woke yesterday morning to an earthquake registering 5.9 on the Richter’s Scale.

It lasted 60 seconds.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forest, Fisheries and Meteorology reported yesterday that the epicenter was 155 miles off the west coast of Samoa. Quakes in the past had been centered near Tonga, however, this was one closer to the Samoa group.

An official from the Meteorology Division at Mulinu'u said the quake was closer to Apia than Nukualofa.

The cause of the quake was not known yesterday, however the official said it was most probably the result of either under water land slides or shifts in tectonic plates.

He said there was no worry of Tsunamis as the quake was centered deep below the ocean.

The Police said they had not received any complaint of damage relating to the quake.