LDS Aid in Tsunami-Stricken Samoa
October 5, 2009 by Gale
Filed under Mormons Serving Local Communities
In October, 2009, an 8.3 earthquake occurred in the sea southwest of Samoa and American Samoa. Since there are a large number of Latter-day Saints on the islands, local Saints and church leaders first tried to locate every member. Emergency response was then coordinated between the Church and local congregations. About 150 people died in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga, 26 of whom were Latter-day Saints. All Mormon missionaries on the islands were accounted for and found to be safe.
Latter-day Saint authorities in Samoa and New Zealand have continued to devote substantial energies to organizing humanitarian relief locally for the battered islands of Samoa and American Samoa.
Latter-day Saints throughout unaffected areas in Samoa have been gathering supplies and are continually shipping these to the impacted communities. Aid is to be given to all people in need, regardless of their religious affiliation (MormonTimes.com).
In American Samoa, at the request of the government, church meeting houses have been opened to residents who lost their homes in the disaster.
In Tonga, the tsunami crushed the small northern island of Niuatoputapu, destroying most of the homes in its three villages and leaving roughly 90 percent of its 1,019 people without shelter and clothing. Survivors reported that the waves reached the boughs of the coconut trees and obliterated the island’s hospital, bank, government offices, telecommunication facilities, jail and airport buildings. Nine people died and four were critically injured.
No Latter-day Saints were killed in Tonga, although some lost their homes and all their possessions.
Church members on Tonga’s main island of Tongatapu provided relief for the people of Niuatoputapu. On Thursday, Tongatapu’s 12 stake presidents broadcast a message on local Tonga radio inviting church members to donate food, clothing, cooking equipment, pillows, blankets and other necessities.
Church members were invited to drop their donations at their local churches, where full-time missionaries helped load them into trucks. At first light Friday, dozens of trucks began transporting the goods to government warehouses. From there, military trucks transported them to the nearby wharf, where they were loaded into a French ship, which will carry them to Niuatoputapu.
Government leaders on all three islands were impressed with the speed and coordinated efforts of the LDS Church and its members and expressed gratitude for the help. Rebuilding efforts will also receive the continuing attention of the LDS Church. The Church is still continuing rebuilding efforts in the tsunami-stricken regions of Indonesia and Thailand, even though the disaster occurred several years ago.
Click here to read a personal account of the devastation in Samoa. This article has many before and after photographs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAaBJrn9su8