Information and Beauty

Tsunami

News and whatever I can get on the current situation.

Boil Drinking Water

Posted Wed, 10/28/2009 - 12:42 by John

The American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency has issued a precautionary boil water notice for all ASPA water drinking systems on Tutuila island yesterday.

 In a statement signed by AS-EPA Director Fanuatele Dr. Toafa Vaiaga’e, it says prohibited household cross-connections of untreated village water systems with ASPA drinking water systems continue to be found islandwide. These cross-connections contaminate ASPA drinking water with E. coli bacteria.

Another Adrenaline Rush for American Samoa

Posted Mon, 10/19/2009 - 15:52 by John

  We had another quake today and it sent the island into a panic. Schools were evacuated and the roads were jammed while people tried to get to safety, just in case there was a wave. We have been taught to head for high ground if the earth shakes. It did and we did. There was a little inconvenience but that is much better than the alternative.

 Neither a tsunami watch nor warning was issued. Even if a warning had been issued, it would have come too late anyway. 

 

World's Largest Plane Arrives in Pago Pago

Posted Tue, 10/13/2009 - 12:18 by John

This huge plane arrived at about 7:10am today with 10 generators aboard.

Each generator is a self-contained unit, the size of a 20' container.  I believe they are 500KW each.  They will be installed almost immediately and put on the grid to alleviate the pressure on our Tafuna power plant, which is working at maximum capacity.

This extraordinary delivery of emergency generators is just one example of the quick action taken by FEMA in their recovery efforts.  

See more pictures of the plane and generators here. 

Now the Good News

Posted Mon, 10/12/2009 - 16:55 by John

I have just returned from the EOC where I saw a beautifully orchestrated effort to coordinate recovery and assistance.  There are some great people working very long hours, under stressful conditions to help all of us recover from this disaster.  Here is a quick look at the inside of the EOC and some of the people working there.  Open this post to see pictures of the EOC.  Sorry, our internet service in American Samoa is very slow and leaving large pictures or slideshows on the font page makes it difficult for local users.

The World's Largest Aircraft

Posted Mon, 10/12/2009 - 15:32 by John

The world's largest airplane arrives tomorrow with generators to help ASPA power the island.  I thought you might like to know a little bit about it.  Open this post to see pictures and learn more about the plane.

EAS Forum

Posted Fri, 10/09/2009 - 14:09 by John

This forum is a place to discuss the Emergency Alert System for American Samoa.

Definition:  EAS = a federal warning system that is activated by FEMA; enables the President to take over the United States airwaves to warn the whole country of major catastrophic events. 

We are not sure how this translates to American Samoa's EAS.

 

Shelters and Meal Locations

Posted Wed, 10/07/2009 - 10:40 by John
This is a list of village facilities where people are either living or receiving meals. 
Nearly 4,000 meals are prepared and delivered three times daily.
This information is as of October 5, 2009
All phone numbers are in area 684. Numbers starting with 7 or 2 are cellphones.

 

Fagasa Tsunami by Evelyn Lili'o

Posted Wed, 10/07/2009 - 07:55 by John
Talofa Everyone,
 
I want to thank everyone for their thought and prayers during this past week. We've all got quite a story to tell; ours, fortunately, can be told.  We had another 6.3 earthquake the day following the tsunami and a 4.6 just this morning in the same area (150 miles away). We're all still a bit on edge.
 

NPS 10/06

Posted Wed, 10/07/2009 - 06:49 by John

 

National Park of American Samoa Crews Assists Partner Villages With Tsunami Recovery
 
October 6, 2009, Pago Pago, American Samoa – The villages of Pago Pago, Afono, Vatia, Leone and Fagasa were all hard hit by the tsunami on September 29th. The National Park of American Samoa, supported by the National Park Service Western Incident Management Team (IC Ziemann) continues to aid these partner villages in recovery efforts.  Crews of totaling up to 50 staff and volunteers are working to remove debris from homes, roads and schools in the five villages.