A relentless downpour that seemed to have come out of nowhere yesterday flooded many parts of the Apia Township.

From Pesega all the way to Vaisigano, flooding affected families and forced some people to move away from their homes for a couple of hours.

The rain started unexpectedly after what had been an extremely hot day, with the sun out in full force. Within an hour, river banks started to burst and areas in Apia vulnerable to flooding were under water. 

Vaisigano, Fugalei, Matautu and Saleufi were among them. 

The road heading to Moamoa could not be crossed last night.

Fords around the country prone to flooding were closed off.

Residents living in flood prone areas feared the worse with the heavy rain continuing into the late afternoon.

Thankfully, by 5pm the rain had slowed down and the flooding receded.

It was not possible to get an official comment from the Samoa Meteorology Office about what had caused the downpour.

But the latest weather forecast attributes the weather pattern to a trough of low pressure within the vicinity of Samoa. 

The forecast says the low pressure is responsible for associated clouds and the rain affecting the country.