Tragedy on the island

Samoa

Twenty villages on Upolu south side were reportedly destroyed, including Lepa the home of Samoa's Prime Minister Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi. In Lepa, only the church and the village's welcome sign remained standing following the tsunami. The hardest hit areas in Samoa appear to be Fagaloa Bayon the east coast of Upolu, Lalomanu on the south east coast, and along the rest of the southern coast of the island, with one hospital in Apia reporting it had received 79 bodies.The village of Poutasi on the south west coast of Upolu was reported with extensive damage in a TVNZ news item, along with its neighbouring Villages of Satalo and Salani being completely wiped out. A mother at the Taufua Beach Fales in Lalomanu watched her three young children swept away by the tsunami. Elsewhere there were reports of landslides near Solosolo and damage to plantations near Apia.

Samoan maanjäristys 2009 oli 8 magnitudin maanjäristys, joka tapahtui Samoalla 29. syyskuuta 2009 kello 6.48 paikallista aikaa. Se aiheutti viisi erillistä tsunamia. Järistyksen nostattama tsunami surmasi 189 ihmistä, joista 159 Samoalla, 31 Amerikan Samoalla ja 9 Tongalla.