Another earthquake rattled the region around Samoa Friday. The United States Geological Service recorded a 6.3 magnitude quake centered 10km deep, 242km from Tonga, but no damage had been reported last night.
The confirmed death toll from the devastating tsunami that crashed into the Samoa islands and Tonga has risen to 170 with at least 10 more people unaccounted for, officials said Friday.
There were 129 dead in Samoa, 32 in American Samoa and nine people were killed on a nearby island in Tonga.
A magnitude 8.0 earthquake just before 7:00 am on Tuesday triggered the waves which, according to survivors, rose up to nine meters (30 feet) as they pounded coastal settlements.
The 10 missing in Samoa were feared to have died, which would raise the overall toll to 180.
“These are the ones who were swept out to sea or are buried under debris,” said Vaosa Epa of the National Disaster Council.
She said the number of missing was collated by police who have been interviewing families in the villages pounded by the tsunami.
In American Samoa, 100 kilometers (60 miles) away, Director of Homeland Security Michael Sala said the confirmed toll there was 32 following a count by all the village mayors.
American Samoa’s governor said most search and rescue operations had been halted and the situation was stabilizing, a US aid official who spoke with him said.
Governor Togiola Tulafono told the Federal Emergency Management Agency by phone that “they had essentially completed the bulk of the search and rescue”, said FEMA chief Craig Fugate.
“They had a few missing people that they were still searching for, but he felt the situation was stabilizing, and has adjusted his request to focus more now on life-sustaining operations including additional generator support and power restoration on the island,” Fugate said.
Fugate said that on American Samoa more than 1,000 homeless were huddled in emergency shelters, while about 6,000 people were still without power three days after Tuesday’s disaster.
In Tonga, nine people were killed on the small northern island of Niuatoputapu and a government spokesman said they were confident everyone had been accounted for.