Tsunami Warning wakes us Saturday morning

Saturday 27 February, Samoa

It was a surreal experience to wake up at 3am to the sound of the phone ringing in our rooms, with Aggie (junior) letting us know there was a tsunami warning in place and that we will need to evacuate at 6am. The warning had gone out across the Pacific following the Chilean earthquake last night, measuring 8.8.

For those of us having never experienced this kind of emergency before, when the siren sounded an hour or so later, there was a brief sense of the fear and panic some people must experience here in Samoa at the very thought of another tsunami.

There are efficient communication procedures in place here and all coastal areas including the whole of Apia moved to higher ground. While we were in the hills, Luis Roqueta, Regional Security Officer, United Nations (UNDSS), took us to one of the ‘concentration points’ where people gather during a tsunami warning. People were quiet, chatting in hushed tones, mothers were nursing babies. It seems people are used to these precautions now and move up to higher ground as soon as the alarm is sounded.

Today has brought home to the whole team just how very real the threat of natural disasters are here. While many people have been able to let go of the trauma and move on, we can see how traumatising these warnings can be for those still suffering from the September disaster.

We are looking forward to going down to the coastal villages on Monday to work alongside the freshly trained members of Samoa Lifeline (Faataua le Ola).