Tsunami kills 113, flattens Samoan villages

APIA (Samoa): A massive tsunami unleashed by a powerful earthquake flattened Samoan villages and swept cars and people out to sea, killing at least 113 and leaving dozens missing on Wednesday. The death toll was expected to rise.

Survivors fled the fast-churning water for higher ground on the South Pacific islands and remained huddled there hours after the quake, with a magnitude between 8.0 and 8.3, struck around dawn on Tuesday.

The quake was centred about 192 km south of the islands of Samoa, which has about 1,80,000 people, and American Samoa, a U.S. territory of 65,000.

Four tsunami waves 4 to 6 metres high roared ashore on American Samoa, reaching up to 1.5 km inland.

The Samoan capital, Apia, was virtually deserted by afternoon, with schools and businesses closed. Hours after the waves struck, sirens rang out with another tsunami alert and panicked residents headed for higher ground again, though there was no indication of a new quake.

In American Samoa’s capital of Pago Pago, the streets and fields were filled with ocean debris, mud, overturned cars and several boats as a massive cleanup effort continued into the night. Several buildings in the city — just a few feet above sea level — were flattened. Several areas were expected to be without power for up to a month.

In Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster for American Samoa. (People born in American Samoa are American nationals, but are not American citizens. They are entitled to elect one non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives.)

Hampered by power and communications outages, officials in the South Pacific islands struggled to determine damage and casualties.

Samoan police commissioner Lilo Maiava told The Associated Press that police had confirmed 63 deaths but devastated areas were still being searched.

At least 30 people were killed on American Samoa, Governor Togiola Tulafono said, adding that the toll was expected to rise from searches by emergency crews.

“I don’t think anybody is going to be spared in this disaster,” said Mr. Tulafono, who was in Hawaii for a conference.