Quake and tsunami devastate Samoa

Death toll rise to 75:

SAMOA: The death toll from Wednesday morning’s 8 magnitude quake and tsunami in Samoa and American Samoa has surpassed 76.

Reports from American Samoa said 19 people have died, including two South Koreans, Radio New Zealand International reported on Wednesday.

A large number of people have been injured and many have been left homeless.

The town center of Pago Pago has been hit badly, with main street flooded, cars overturned, the radio said.

In neighboring Samoa, seven people were reported to have died but the figure was expected to rise.

Four people have died at Fa’aga village at Siumu on the southern coast of Upolu.

There were also deaths reported from Lalomanu village.

There was widespread damage in villages along the southern coast. Assessments are being made and New Zealand has offered to assist. The tsunami warning in Hawaii was lifted about five hours after the quake struck, but in some places, like in French Polynesia’s Marquesas islands, the alert was maintained.

The low-lying islands of Tuvalu also remain on alert for a possible tsunami.

The death toll from the early morning tsunami that hit the southern side of the main island of Upolu in Samoa continued to grow as rescue workers and government disaster agencies try and reach villages along the coast.

Editor of the Environment Weekly magazine, Cherelle Jackson, who visited one of these villages said the whole village at Poutasi Village was flattened and debris and dead fish strewn all over the road and on the beach, the Pacnews reported.

Wellington, Wednesday, Xinhua