Over 100 Dead & Villages Destroyed After Tsunami Hits Samoan Islands (VIDEO)

It’s being reported that at least 111 people are dead in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga.  Local rescuers fear the death toll will rise as they journey to outlying villages squashed by the wave.

CNN reports that American Samoa resident Frances Faumatu said she fled to Aoloau, the highest village on the island.

“All of a sudden we heard on the radio everybody had to run for safety,” she said. “Right after the quake, the tsunami came.”

Faumatu and many others stayed on the mountain for two or three hours until the warning was lifted. They saw Pago Pago, the island’s capital, appear to be swallowed by the sea.

At least 22 people are confirmed dead in the U.S. island territory. There are cars, boats, debris, and parts of buildings strewn over the landscape.

The 8.0-magnitude earthquake hit the Samoan islands early Tuesday.

There are about 220,000 people live on the two main islands which make up the nation of Samoa. The population of American Samoa is about 66,000.

Patients at the hospital were reported moved to higher ground, but returned and the hospital is operating, the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency said. The airport in the capital of Pago Pago was also operational and being used for emergency flights, FEMA said.

“The wave came onshore and washed out people’s homes,” said Cinta Brown, an American Samoa homeland security official working at the island’s emergency operations center.

American Samoa Gov. Togiola Tulafono, speaking from Hawaii, said Tuesday’s quake ranked “right up there with some of the worst” disasters on the island. He said he had spoken to the military about mobilizing reserve forces for assistance.

Tulafono was headed back home from Hawaii on Tuesday night on one of two U.S. Coast Guard transport planes delivering aid. He said it was difficult being away as the disaster happened.

President Obama declared American Samoa a major disaster area, ordering federal aid to supplement local efforts.

The Coast Guard is transporting more than 20 officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to American Samoa

The quake generated three separate tsunami waves, the largest measuring 5.1 feet from sea level height, said Vindell Hsu, a geophysicist with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

Here are videos on the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the area:

Click Thumbnails for Larger pictures

Source: CNN

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