Exploring the status of tsunami early warning systems in Samoa

Historical records indicate that a total of sixty tsunami events have impacted the Samoa Islands between the period 1837 to 1980. The majority of these tsunami events were teletsunamis which originated from seismic activity associated with the Pacific Ring of Fire, although local volcanism have also played a role in generating local tsunami events. Relative to the impacts of other natural hazards such as tropical cyclones and flooding, there has been the perception that the magnitude of tsunami impacts in Samoa have been rather moderate. This holds true at least up until the December 26 th 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which served as a wake up call to Government’s around the world to reassess the nature and impacts of tsunamis likely to affect their countries, as well as their respective levels of resilience to such hazards. Samoa has since upgraded the risk of tsunami hazards to extreme based on the unpredictable nature of these events, as well as Samoa’s proximity to the Tonga trench region. This change however, has prompted the need to re-evaluate Samoa’s existing warning system, as well as identify the loop-holes that need to be strengthened so as to meet public demand for greater service efficiency in the provision of timely public tsunami warnings. This paper takes a generic look at the status of Samoa’s tsunami warning system, by exploring the nature of tsunamis that have affected the country, as well as the relative measures Samoa has undertaken in response to tsunami mitigation.