Emergency services feared entire villages had been wiped out by the massive waves, which sent terrified residents fleeing for higher ground.Latest news from American Samoa said the tsunami had killed at least 14 people there. In nearby Western Samoa, unconfirmed reports said that a further 40 people were believed to have died.
Fears of a devastating ocean-wide tsunami dissolved after the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center cancelled its warning for the region. The warning had been issued three and a half hours earlier after an 8.3 magnitude earthquake off American Samoa. The 2004 Asian tsunami killed about 230,000 people across 11 countries.
'I can confirm there is damage, I can confirm there are deaths and I can confirm there are casualties," a Western Samoa police spokeswoman said. "I cannot say any more at the moment.'
President Thomas Lapua, who lives in the Western Samoan capital of Apia, said: 'These are places that exist because people depend on the sea to fish - now the sea is threatening their lives. It may be some time before we find out the full extent of this.' (Daily Mail)
