Reports up to 40 dead after quake, tsunami hit Samoa

[Guest proud2beaussie]

Apparently there are fears that a smaller tsunami may be headed for New Zealand.

Reports up to 40 dead after quake, tsunami hit Samoa - World - NZ Herald News

There are unconfirmed reports that 40 people from the Samoan village of Lalomanu - on the south-eastern end of the island of Upolu - have been killed.

A New Zealand man called Radio Samoa in Auckland saying he had been in touch with his family in Lalomanu.

Family members said up to 40 people had died following the magnitude 8.3 earthquake and tsunami which hit the island in the early hours of this morning.

 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10600389

[connaust]

My sister and brother in law live in Samoa :unsure: Assume they are ok, have not seen their names, they do not live in a resort.....hopefully up the side of a hill....

[Guest proud2beaussie]

Scramble for vital supplies begins after Samoan tsunami and Indonesian earthquake | World news | The Guardian

 

The British Red Cross has made a joint Asia-Pacific disaster appeal for help across the region.

A spokeswoman in London said that while the agency's partners in south-east Asia had been "very, very well prepared" for an emergency, the disasters following on so quickly from Typhoon Ketsana, now also affecting Indochina, put them under particular strain.

"We've got a lot of stocks in Kuala Lumpur which will be going out to the different regions," she said, "but [the successive disasters] have happened very suddenly, so they have taken people by surprise."

With 15,000 people requiring emergency help in Samoa alone, the local Red Cross had set up five camps, the spokeswoman said. New Zealand's Red Cross had supplied tarpaulins, water kits and first aid packages, while Australia was offering health supplies. A team is expected in the country shortly.

Unicef said it had begun an appeal over Typhoon Ketsana, but another appeal for yesterday's disasters was "most likely". The situation in Sumatra was still unfolding, said a spokesman, with "heavy communications damage and losses in the field". A team was auditing emergency needs, he said. "In 24 to 36 hours they will generate a very rapid assessment, and that sets the ball rolling." The agency's office in Fiji was preparing oral rehydration salts and sanitation kits for the tsunami area, he said. "In Samoa the government has said safe water is a priority, so we are deploying sanitation specialists."

 

[connaust]

Sister emailed, yes they do luckily live up the side of a hill, but not so lucky for wife of one their Hash House friends.....