Tsunami deaths likely to rise in Pacific islands

By Baris Atayman

Siumu, SAMOA (Reuters) - Relief workers in American Samoa and Samoa searched for survivors on Thursday after a series of tsunamis smashed into the tiny Pacific islands, killing possibly more than 100 people and flattening villages.

Television images showed homes ripped apart, cars submerged in the sea or lodged in trees and large fishing boats hurled ashore by the waves generated by a 8.0 magnitude earthquake southwest of American Samoa, a U.S. territory.

Some victims were washed out to sea by waves that reached at least 6 meters (20 feet) high.

Radio New Zealand reported 83 people were killed in Samoa, 22 in nearby American Samoa and seven in Tonga. The two Samoas and Tonga have a combined population of about 400,000 people and rely on subsistence agriculture, fishing and tourism.

A second earthquake, of 7.9 magnitude, hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra late on Wednesday, prompting the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center to issue a tsunami watch for Indonesia, India, Thailand and Malaysia.

The prime minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, said the death toll in his nation was expected to rise.

"It was fortunate ... the tsunami struck when it was daylight and the tide was also low," he told Reuters. "If it had come in the dark and the tide was high, the number of people who died would be much higher."

U.S. President Barack Obama declared a major disaster in American Samoa and ordered federal aid to help the recovery.

"We also stand ready to help our friends in neighboring Samoa and throughout the region and we will continue to monitor this situation closely," Obama said.

AID FLIES IN

A U.S. C-130 transport plane arrived in American Samoa on Thursday as part of an air bridge to bring in relief workers and supplies. The Navy's USS Ingraham was en route with an estimated arrival time of 2300 GMT.

Togiola Tulafono, governor of the territory, said at least 24 people were killed and 50 injured, with the southern portion of the main island of Tutuila "devastated." The toll may rise as rescuers search buildings, including a seniors center.

Residents in Pago Pago, the main village in American Samoa, were returning to their homes after fleeing to higher ground to avoid the waves that pounded buildings, including the local fish cannery, and unearthed a cemetery.

"They're coming back but there is some fear because of some rumors of a (tsunami) warning coming down from Honolulu," said Nick Faasala, a U.S. postal worker who spoke to Reuters by telephone from Pago Pago's Showers of Blessing radio station.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said at least 60 people had been killed in Samoa. The government in Canberra said two Australians, a 6-year-old girl and a woman aged 50, were killed and six were missing.