A powerful Magnitude 8.0 earthquake ruptured the seafloor south of Samoa on 30 September 2009, unleashing a destructive tsunami on Samoa, American Samoa, and northern Tonga (Niuatoputapu). Its impact on distant New Zealand shores was picked up by a sea-level monitoring system operated by NIWA and other agencies. The system showed that peak waves arrived between 1–2 and 13 hours after the arrival of the first tsunami waves, depending on locality.