2009 –Sep 29, Tsunami from 8.0 earthquake 120 miles offshore, American Samoa — 34

— 34  CNN. “Report: Tsunami warning funds squandered in American Samoa.” 10-28-2009.

— 34  FEMA. “Disaster Assistance in American Samoa Tops $33 million,” 3-17-2010.[1]

— 32  Confirmed. U.S. Interior Dept. “American Samoa Earthquake and Tsunami.” 10-13-2009.

 

Narrative Information

 

US Interior Dept.: “An earthquake with a magnitude of 8.0 on the Richter Scale occurred 120 miles south-southwest from American Samoa, about 13 kilometers below the seabed at about 6:48 a.m. SST (1:48 p.m. Eastern DT ). The earthquake was followed by a tsunami that produced several large waves causing 32 confirmed deaths, more than a hundred injuries and the destruction of about 200 homes and businesses. While there are still about 400 persons living in shelters, most of the displaced persons have been invited to live with friends and families on the island. Major damage/destruction occurred to the coastal areas of Tutuila and other islands of American Samoa, a U.S. insular territory. The tsunami also impacted surrounding islands, including Western Samoa and Tonga.

 

“American Samoa received an expedited Federal Major Disaster Declaration on Sept. 29, 2009 making disaster funds available for Individual assistance, Public assistance and Hazard Mitigation. The Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) established a Joint Field Office (JFO) on the island where all Federal response and recovery operations are being coordinated. The FCO assumed operational control of response and recovery operations from FEMA Region IX’s Response Coordination Center which has transitioned to a support posture. The Federal Emergency Management Agency announced late this week that response operations have concluded and the incident has moved to the recovery phase. FEMA’s National Response Coordination Center has shifted back to normal, steady state operations.

 

“The U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Defense and Hawaiian Airlines provided relief flights to the island, bringing in responders and supplies with 24-hours of the tsunami. While much of the island’s infrastructure was damaged, response teams were able to get water facilities, electricity and communications re-established, at least to a workable level with a few days of the disasters.

 

“The Lyndon Baines Johnson Hospital was able to remain open throughout the disaster using generator power. Within 48-hours, relief medical supplies and deployed medical teams arrived on American Samoa to supplement the island staff, assisting with the treatment of many patients who were injured during the disaster….

 

“The NPS [National Park Service] Visitor Center and headquarters on Tutuila received extensive damage from tsunami surge flooding and is uninhabitable….

 

“American Samoa is a U. S. insular territory with a population of approximately 65,000 people. The Department of the Interior is the federal agency charged with coordinating federal policy for the social, economic and political development of the U.S. insular territories in the Pacific and Caribbean and administers all congressional funding for these islands. The Office of Insular Affairs carries out the Secretary’s statutory responsibilities for these islands.” (U.D. Dept. Interior OEM.  “American Samoa Earthquake and Tsunami” (Fact Sheet). 10-13-2009 update.)

 

CNN, Pago Pago, American Samoa, Oct 28: “When an earthquake-triggered tsunami cascaded into this tiny island in late September, the result was 34 lives lost and untold millions in property damage. But a CNN investigation to air on tonight’s “AC 360” has uncovered an array of unsettling facts that point to a single conclusion: this natural disaster was in many ways a man-made tragedy. Public records show that the Department of Homeland Security had awarded millions of federal dollars in grants for disaster preparedness here, including the construction of an island-wide siren warning system. But all the federal funding was frozen in early 2007 after DHS inspectors found that the local American Samoan government had been diverting millions of those dollars for its own uses….

 

“Federal sources told CNN they believe that had the warning system been built, the death toll would likely have been lower….

 

“CNN has learned that the FBI is now conducting an investigation into exactly what did happen to the federal preparedness dollars sent to American Samoa. It was launched, sources tell CNN, by the Interior Department as its Insular Affairs office has federal administrative responsibility for the island. The FBI investigation is only the latest and most recent attempt by the federal government to try to track what one federal official told CNN was “endemic” corruption on the island….

 

“In half a dozen villages either wiped out or badly damaged by the tsunami, CNN could find no visible evidence of local government assistance. Workers from a tuna fish processing plant were helping in one village; in another, students from an island community college were dredging rubbish out of a stream. Red Cross officials distributed tents in other villages. Children in another village were hauling furniture on their backs to help clear the debris. When asked about the seeming lack of local government assistance, the governor told CNN, “Our departments are out there working and working very hard, and to say they haven’t seen any assistance is totally false.”

 

“Since 1995, American Samoa has received nearly $2 billion in federal grants from nearly every federal agency. On average the 65,000-population — the size of a typical American suburb — receives about $250 million in federal money each year. Congressional sources tell CNN that oversight has always been a problem because of Samoa’s isolation and the expense involved in even mounting an investigation….

 

“Federal sources said they don’t believe any official is getting rich off the U.S. Treasury. Instead, they said, federal funds — including disaster-preparedness money that was to have gone to the warning system — were instead used to create local government jobs in an economy almost totally dependent on U.S. federal grants….” (CNN (Drew Griffin and David Fitzpatrick). “Report: Tsunami warning funds squandered in American Samoa,” 10-28-2009.)

 

FEMA: “Pago Pago, AS —  In the six months since an earthquake and tsunami struck American Samoa and caused extensive damage and loss of life, federal assistance has topped $33 million. Another $107 million is in the pipeline for later distribution. The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in partnership with the American Samoa Government (ASG) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), launched recovery efforts within a day of the disastrous tsunami, which killed 32 people and left two missing.

 

“The series of waves also disabled the local power plants; destroyed 248 homes and 28 rental units; and damaged another 2,750 dwellings. One school was destroyed and another four suffered substantial damage. Roads, bridges, churches, and everything in the waves’ paths were damaged to varying degrees….” (FEMA. “Disaster Assistance in American Samoa Tops $33 million,” 3-17-2010.)

Sources

 

CNN (Drew Griffin and David Fitzpatrick). “Report: Tsunami warning funds squandered in American Samoa.” CNN Special Investigations Unit, 10-28-2009. Accessed 9-5-2015 at: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/10/27/asamoa.tsunami.warningsystem/

 

Federal Emergency Management Agency. “Disaster Assistance in American Samoa Tops $33 million,” 3-17-2010. Accessed 9-5-2015 at: https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2010/03/17/disaster-assistance-american-samoa-tops-33-million

 

United States Department of the Interior, Office of Emergency Management. “American Samoa Earthquake and Tsunami” (Fact Sheet). 10-13-2009 update. Accessed 9-5-2015 at: https://www.doi.gov/emergency/factsheets/american-samoa-earthquake-and-tsunami-damage

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] 32 confirmed, 2 missing.