Stunned Samoans dug through the sodden wreckage of their homes and told of the terror of being trapped underwater or flung inland by the tsunami that ravaged towns and killed at least 149 people in the South Pacific.
Officials expect the death toll to rise as more areas are searched.
"The devastation caused was complete," Samoan Minister Tuilaepa Sailele told New Zealand's National Radio on Wednesday after inspecting the southeast coast of the main island of Upolu, the epicentre of the damage.
"In some villages absolutely no house was standing. All that was achieved within 10 minutes by the very powerful tsunami."
His own village of Lesa was washed away, as were many others in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga.
A magnitude 8.0 quake struck off Samoa at 6:48 am local time (1115 IST) on Tuesday. The islands soon were engulfed by four tsunami waves 15 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters) high that reached up to a mile (1.5 kilometres) inland.
"To me it was like a monster just black water coming to you. It wasn't a wave that breaks, it was a full force of water coming straight," said Luana Tavale, an American Samoa government employee.
{{/usCountry}}"To me it was like a monster just black water coming to you. It wasn't a wave that breaks, it was a full force of water coming straight," said Luana Tavale, an American Samoa government employee.
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