|
 As the National Disaster Council met yesterday the death toll stood at 89.
That was Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi’s information as he sat down to chair the council’s meeting yesterday morning.
He, Cabinet ministers and Government Chief Executive Officers had just returned from visiting the worst tsunami struck area of south west and south east of Upolu Island.
But then Commissioner of Police Lilomaiava Fou Taioalo, who was part of the inspection tour, told the meeting that at Lauli’i on their way back to town, a further 21 bodies had been found. Most were women and children, the Commissioner said.
No one expects the death toll to remain at 110, with Tuilaepa himself reporting to the meeting, “(at) Saleapaga, I know there was still one missing” – a young boy.
“That’s aside from two who were found while we were still there this morning.”
There are 146 injured.
 Cabinet yesterday was to have reached a decision on how to address the sensitive issue of laying to rest the rapidly decomposing bodies with the funeral parlours struggling to cope with the many dead.
A decision needs to be made today at the latest, the Prime Minister said.
Water containers, shelter, clothing and food are the most important things the tsunami survivors wanted, he said, after their inspection tour.
Estimated cost of damage caused by the tsunami is $96.9 million, the Ministry of Works, Transport and Infrastructure has calc
ulated.
Overseas aid began to arrive yesterday.
A Hercules aircraft from New Zealand arrived yesterday bearing tarpaulins, tents and water containers, the NDC meeting was told yesterday.
The Red Cross is the distributing agency for tsunami relief aid.
Houses in one of the villages of his constituency of Lepa have been completed destroyed, the Prime Minister said.
They are all now staying at the hall of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa.
“This is where the importance of tents cannot be overly emphasised,” he said.
Counselling for tsunami survivors was urged by Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Faumuina Tiatia Liuga.
“The stress level is a bit high,” Faumuina said.
He urged the clergy to provide counseling saying people they met on their inspection yesterday looked at them but were “blank” and seemed to be in another world.
 Some of the victims are not eating, he said.
Tuilaepa agreed the horror people saw during the tsunami will stay with them forever.
On the other hand he said what the survivors saw “will be a very important lesson for them in the future in the sense in … building and also moving up to higher ground.”
Only so much can be done in terms of getting people to move out of harm’s way, the Prime Minister said.
The centre of the earthquake was only 200 miles to our south.
“And the speed with which the waves moved was extraordinary.
“So it was only a matter of minutes, especially when the earthquake took – that is what I was informed – just over three minutes of shaking and that’s a very long time.
“Already the first wave would’ve have been on its way.”
The tsunami was worst than the cyclone of 1991, the Prime Minister said.
“The cyclone took four days of battering.
“This took only nine to 10 minutes, it was so sudden.”
“This is a major disaster for us.” Back
|
