YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK (Russia's Far East), September 30 (RIA Novosti) - There is no threat of a tsunami hitting Russia's Kurils Islands in the Pacific in the wake of a powerful earthquake near the Samoa archipelago, a Russian seismologist said on Wednesday.

"Experts from the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk seismological station registered a 7.9-magnitude earthquake in the Pacific at 04.59 local time on Wednesday [17.59 GMT on Tuesday]," the official said.

"According to our estimates, there is no threat of a tsunami striking the coast of the Kurils Islands," she added.

The Western media earlier reported an 8.3-magnitude quake, which occurred near the Samoa Islands between the nation of Samoa and American Samoa, a U.S. territory, with a total population of about 250,000 people.

The tremor triggered huge waves, which reportedly devastated coastal areas on several islands and killed at least 39 people.

Local radio in Pago Pago (American Samoa) earlier said five consecutive waves with the height of at least five meters (16.4 feet) hit the island destroying houses and cars, but most of the local residents managed to hide on a higher ground.

However, Samoa's disaster management office said on Wednesday that the total count of killed and injured by the tsunami could reach hundreds of people.

The South Pacific region is well known for its high seismic activity, registering 6,000-7,000 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.0 or above annually.

Two earthquakes, each measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale, stroke off Bali and North Maluku on September 19, injuring at least seven people and sending many others fleeing their homes in panic.

A 7.9-magnitude tremor in March caused a tsunami, which hit the Tonga archipelago. No deaths or severe damage was reported then.

The most devastating tragedy in the region occurred in December 2004, when an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia triggered a tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people across Asia.