Fourteen people died in American Samoa on Wednesday after five tsunami waves hit the island, Reuters reported citing a local radio announcer.

Tsunami waves swept ashore and at least one other village was flattened, according to a report from the Associated Press.

As of right now, everybody is up in the high mountain ranges, said Senetenari Malele, announcer for local radio station Showers of Blessings, Reuters noted.

Malele said the local weather authority reported 14 dead in the last hour, according to the news report.

A 7.9 magnitude earthquake shook the Pacific Ocean near American Samoa - an island in the South Pacific archipelago - today generating tsunami waves, U.S. government agencies said. However the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake's magnitude was 8.3 and issued an alert for the South Pacific region, from American Samoa to New Zealand.

Tsunami