An eye witness account

Tuaoimaalii Iofi Su’a is one of the survivors from the village of Satitoa. He is also a high ranking chief in his community. His village is one of the three villages Caritas Samoa is focussing on now. Caritas Samoa is planning to rebuild houses for all those living in Satitoa. In his own words he describes his experience.

“There were 14 people who died from Satitoa. I survived because we lived in a two storey-building and the waves didn’t reach the second storey of my house. Only my grand niece, Taimane Tupuola died when she tried to run with her mother up the hill. Apparently the waves caught up with them and caused them to separate.

Now our house is still standing whereas everything is destroyed, from windows to furniture. Everything except for the house itself is now all ruins.

We are now camping in the forest. There are 4 churches here, I’m Mormon and I’m grateful for all the help my family is getting. We really need a home to move to but for now we need tents because the one we have is still not enough. We need water for everyday living; drinking water is more than enough except for water for shower and cleaning.”

Survivor and local chief Tuaoimaalii Iofi Su’a

Kirsty Robertson, Caritas Australia Pacific Program Coordinator writing from Samoa.