Deadly tsunamis hit Samoa

Damage caused by the tsunami

A number of Pacific islands including Tonga, Samoa and American Samoa have been struck by tsunamis generated by a strong quake in the South Pacific.

At least 65 people were reported dead in Samoa, more than 20 in American Samoa and at least six in Tonga. The tsunamis caused a 8.3-magnitude quake that struck about 125 miles from Samoa at 6.48pm BST. The shocks sent a tidal wave into Apia, the capital of Samoa, and a 1.5m wave into Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa.

News outlets such as the BBC and Sky News are reporting that whole villages are said to have been destroyed making thousands homeless in the region. US President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in American Samoa, a US territory, enabling federal funding to made available to help victims. There are approximately 250,000 people living in Samoa and American Samoa.

Speaking to the BBC, Eni Faleomavaega, who represents American Samoa in the US, spoke of the damage, "Some of the areas are only a few feet above sea level, so you can imagine the devastation."

"It caused severe damage to property, there are cars floating everywhere," he said adding that the waves had "literally wiped out all the low-lying areas in the Samoan islands."

Due to the waves hitting just minutes after the quake, there was no time for people to escape or even to warn people of the impending disaster. Assorted newspapers are reporting that many of those that were swept out to sea were killed by a second wave after they went to gather fish that had been washed up after the first.

With many power and communications lines down, local officials are struggling to accurately assess the casualties and the damage, but it is expected that the death will rise.

According to a US coast guard spokesman, Lieutenant John Titchen, a C130 plane has been dispatched to deliver aid to American Samoa, as well as to assess damage and take the governor home. American Samoa is believed to have been hit by four separate waves, each up to 15-20 feet high. In Leone, one of many villages flattened, hundreds of people fled their homes for higher ground.

"It's just devastating like the wrath of God," said Vincent Iuli, a resident of the village said speaking to The Guardian. "I've never seen anything as powerful as this. I was just about to get into the car to go to work when the warning came on the radio."

Many took shelter in a local church, situated on higher ground, but it is reported that water still rushed in, sweeping several people to their deaths. Hundreds of people are crowding on the high ground behind the village where chiefs have set up a camp until emergency services reach them. "Each family has a chief and this is when they rise to the occasion," Iuli said.

The US geological service said the earthquake struck about 20 miles below the ocean floor and was followed 20 minutes later by an aftershock of magnitude 5.6. Despite the devastation caused, the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami that killed 150,000 people is said to have been 10 times as strong.

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