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A view of the Sinalei resort, south of Apia, capital of Samoa, after it was struck by a tsunami - Source: Reuters -
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Rescuers have fished bloated corpses from the South Pacific off Samoa and pulled bodies from the mud and twisted rubble of devastated islands as the death toll from a series of tsunamis nears 200.
Officials fear the number could go much higher.
A spotter aircraft circled the ocean looking for bodies on Thursday, dropping smoke flares to pinpoint their location for a boat to collect.
Within an hour five were hauled ashore.
The confirmed death toll stands at 149 in Samoa, 31 on American Samoa and nine on neighbouring Tonga, but officials fear that whole towns have been destroyed on outlying islands.
Hundreds of people remain missing.
About 20 villages were destroyed in Samoa and scores flattened in nearby American Samoa.
"Everybody is in a state of shock," says Representative Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, who arrived on the US territory of American Samoa on Wednesday night.
"Many families are still up on high ground. They don't want to come down. We're still having tremors (from the earthquake)."
The congressman says many survivors have no homes to return to and are being given shelter in churches.
Four powerful tsunamis generated by a strong magnitude 8.0 undersea earthquake crashed into the islands on Tuesday, laying waste to a paradise of palm trees, resorts and pristine beaches.
The waves, at least 6 metres high, ripped buildings apart and washed people out to sea, some still in their beds, survivors say.
"We have more bodies that are being found in the wreckage and being excavated and being brought to the hospital so we expect that the death toll will rise," says Dr David Bouslough at the main hospital in Pago Pago, capital of American Samoa.
Children swept away
One mother watched in horror as her three children playing in the sand were swept away.
Many other people died after being crushed by debris swirling in the floodwaters.
Two refrigerated shipping containers, on grass behind the main hospital in the Samoan capital Apia, are serving as makeshift morgues after the hospital morgue could accept no more corpses.
Along the southern coast of Samoa's main island Upolu, which bore the brunt of the tsunamis, palm trees have nearly all been flattened, snapped like twigs by the force of the ocean.
A layer of mud and sand covers many shattered buildings and boats and cars hang from trees, as survivors scavenge the debris.
Survivors say people are collecting dead fish, washed ashore by the waves, to feed their families.
"We've seen pick-up trucks carrying the dead ... back to town," says New Zealand tourist Fotu Becerra.
"We were shocked when we saw the first one but after three hours, it seemed normal."
US President Barack Obama has declared a major disaster in American Samoa and has ordered federal aid to help the recovery.
Federal Emergency Management Administration chief Craig Fugate says the American Samoa governor and the FEMA disaster co-ordinating officer have toured the area by air to view the damage.
"Based upon that the governor has asked us to prioritize right now additional generator support and additional medical supplies, which are currently being tasked to go out there."
Fugate says FEMA has 140 people on the ground in American Samoa, including members of the US Coast Guard, officials of the Federal Co-ordinating Officer's Incident Management Team, members of the Hawaiian National Guard and others.
Bodies found in wreckage
He says FEMA has supplies on the ground for the disaster responders and the general public, including the military's standard field rations as well as generators and more than nine shipping pallets loaded with medical supplies.
The waves hit early in the morning, almost without warning, leaving many villagers little chance to outrun waters surging 200 metres inland.
Radio New Zealand, quoting disaster authorities, says 32,000 people have been affected, with about 3,000 left homeless.
"The devastation is frightening. Every family has been affected. One of my staff members has lost 13 members of her family," says Adimaimalaga Tafunai, director of Women in Business Development Inc (WIBDI) in Apia.
The New Zealand Red Cross has launched a Samoa Tsunami Relief project at givealittle.co.nz Oxfam NZ is also accepting donations online at www.oxfam.org.nz , by phone 0800 400 666, or you can make make an automatic $20 donation, please call 0900 600 20.
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