19 October 2009 3:21pm
Samoa tsunami update
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At 6.48 am on the 29th of September, Samoa was struck by an earthquake measuring 8.3 on the Richter scale, centred off ‘Upolu’s south coast. The quake itself didn’t cause much damage but a few minutes later people were scrambling for higher ground as the water drained out beyond the reef – the telltale sign of an imminent tsunami. Three massive waves followed, killing over 180 people in Samoa, American Samoa and on the Tongan island of Niuatoputapu. The most deaths occurred on ‘Upolu in Samoa, with over 170 people dead, and over 4000 left homeless.
The tragedy occurred on the less-populated southern side of the island, avoiding even greater loss of life. However, it completely devastated the village of Lalomanu, whose beachside fales were popular with budget travellers, as well as Samoa’s swanky south coast resorts. The remainder of Samoa was unaffected.
Despite the disaster, there’s no reason to delay travelling to the Samoan Islands, and certainly no reason to defer travel to Tonga. It would only add to the tragedy if their tourism industry collapsed as well.
The vast majority of the places listed in our South Pacific and Samoa & Tonga guidebooks remain open for business.
In Samoa, the exceptions are:
- All of the establishments listed in the Samoa & Tonga guidebook’s Eastern ‘Upolu section were affected to various degrees and none are currently operating – although it seems likely that even some of these will reopen by the beginning of 2010
- Most of the establishments listed in the guidebook’s ‘Upolu South Coast section. Sa’moana Resort was untouched and, along with Virgin Cove Resort, has been able to continue operating. Despite losing one of its owners, Sinalei Reef Resort is due to reopen in November 2009 and neighbouring Coconuts Beach Club Resort plan to reopen by February 2010.
- In American Samoa, the places hardest hit were Leone and Pago Pago, both on Tutila. However, most of Pago Pago’s hotels were able to remain open for business throughout.
- In Tonga, only the tiny far-northern island of Niuatoputapu was struck and it would be worth avoiding travelling there for the time being. Nowhere else in the kingdom was affected, and there is no reason to defer travel to Tonga.
Information Resources:
The Red Cross and Oxfam are both running fundraising appeals; see their websites for more details.
