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APIA: At least 19 people were reported killed following a powerful earthquake and tsunami near Samoa early on Tuesday.
Radio KSBS-FM said at least 14 people were reported killed in American Samoa following the earthquake and tsunami which hit the area.
The New Zealand deputy high commissioner to Apia, David Dolphin, said at least five people were reported killed in neighbouring Samoa.
Most of the damage appeared to be centred on the island's southern coast where waves of six-to-eight metres were recorded.
"There are reports of some quite serious damage, at least five fatalities and quite a few reports of people missing," said Dolphin, who was on the north coast at the time.
The earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.0 struck at 6.48 am (1748 GMT), the USGS said, and was followed by tsunamis in Samoa and neighbouring American Samoa.
A reporter for Radio Polynesia told Radio New Zealand there were reports of missing people and serious damage.
"Damaged houses, villages being wiped out, there are speculations there are some missing people out there but no confirmation of that yet," he told the station.
A New Zealand tourist who called the station to appeal for help said he was looking over an area of destruction from the safety of a hill near Apia.
"We clambered up a hill and one of the party has a broken leg. We just need help, there will be people in a great lot of need around here, it's flattened."
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said waves 1.57 metres tall hit American Samoa, while 0.7 metre waves were recorded in Samoa.
The centre had earlier issued a tsunami warning for a large swathe of the South Pacific including Fiji, New Zealand and Tonga after the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported a 7.9 magnitude quake.
The centre later said an 8.3 magnitude quake had been recorded at a depth of 33 kilometres. This was later revised downwards to 8.0 magnitude, with a depth of 18 kilometres. Several powerful aftershocks also hit the region.
"Sea level readings indicate a tsunami was generated," said a statement from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre.
"It may have been destructive along coasts near the earthquake epicentre and could also be a threat to more distant coasts. Authorities should take appropriate action in response to this possibility."
Samoa resident Keni Lesa told AFP in the capital Apia that people were moving inland.
"I'm taking my family to a safe place. Everyone's getting out of coastal areas," he said.
But Lesa said there was no panic as "we have done a lot of training for this," living on a low lying island in an earthquake prone area.
Coastal houses were reported to have been damaged, schools were cancelled, and roads were jammed as streams of cars headed inland.
In New Zealand, civil defence officials activated emergency plans and warned a tsunami up to one metre could hit parts of the east coast of the North Island. Residents were warned to be prepared to evacuate coastal areas.
The tsunami warning was also in effect for American Samoa, Samoa, Niue Island, the Wallis and Futuna Islands, the Tokelau atolls, the Cook Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Kermadec Islands, the Baker and Howland Islands, Jarvis Island, French Polynesia, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Kosrae Island, and the Palmyra Islands.
A tsunami watch was issued for Australia, Indonesia, Antarctica, Yap, Guam, The Northern Mariana Islands, Chuuk, Marcus Island, Pitcairn and the Midway Islands.
The USGS said the region was struck by a 5.6 magnitude quake around 20 minutes after the first, followed by a series of other aftershocks, measuring up to 5.8. - AFP/de
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