American Samoa ready to evacuate island residents quickly

Manu'a group, American Samoa Photo: Supplied

American Samoa is drawing up plans for the speedy evacuation of residents of the Manu’a islands in case the ongoing earthquakes become a safety issue.

Earthquakes have been reported in Manu’a since July 26 due to The Ta’u Island underwater volcano.

Director of Homeland Security, Samana Semo Veavea, who is also the Territorial Coordinating Officer, told KHJ News that there are two plans for evacuation.

One is for evacuation within 24 hours and the other is an immediate evacuation of residents from the islands.

Sirens in Manu’a have been tested and evacuation routes have been cleared.

Samana says they will have meetings with residents to explain the plans and what they have to do and where to go when the time comes.

Asked about federal assistance following the governor’s declaration of a territorial disaster as a result of the continuous tremors in Manu’a Samana said it’s likely the federal help will be requested when Manu’a residents are evacuated.

Source: RNZ