American Samoa damage
put at $150 millionTropical Cyclone Heta damaged
property and injured 60 people
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa >> Tropical Cyclone Heta caused an estimated $150 million in damage to this U.S. territory, officials said yesterday.
Heta, the first cyclone of the season, plowed through American Samoa and neighboring Samoa on Jan. 4 with winds up to 200 mph.
The storm damaged more than 4,600 homes in American Samoa, according to the American Red Cross.
In neighboring Samoa, where winds decimated up to 90 percent of the crops, officials said the government has received $100,000 from China to help with the relief effort.
The funds from the Chinese government are among the thousands of dollars in aid that have come in for both regions as word of the damage caused by Heta has spread.
A Hawaii-based relief effort received a $10,000 donation from actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson to buy food and water for victims in Samoa, while Bank of Hawaii announced yesterday that it was pledging $15,000 to the American Red Cross chapter in American Samoa.
Organizers of the Hawaii relief effort for independent Samoa plan to start loading donated goods onto the first of two containers on Monday. The containers will be shipped to Samoa on Jan. 26.
Organizer Gus Hannemann said yesterday he was especially pleased that the first container will be loaded entirely with food, which is most needed in Samoa. For more details or to make a donation, call Hannemann at 375-7800.
In American Samoa, Gov. Togiola Tulafono said the preliminary damage assessment of $150 million mostly accounts for surface damage.
"Of course, we have not really dug into the hidden damage, that we don't know about -- for example, the school in Poloa village, which was very badly damaged," he said. "It may be a total loss, but we don't know yet until more specialized people take a look at it. So, maybe the numbers could go up or go down."
Emergency repairs are now under way at public facilities, beginning with schools, he said.
The Rev. Atinae Sheck, director of the local chapter of the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team, said about 600 houses were completely destroyed, more than 1,000 houses had major damage that can be repaired and more than 3,000 houses had minor damage.
The next step for the Red Cross is to interview affected families on their emergency needs.
President Bush declared American Samoa a disaster area this week, making federal funds available for the recovery effort.
Meanwhile, hospital officials said 60 cyclone-related injuries were reported, including a 13-year-old boy electrocuted when he stepped on live wires blown down by Heta.
Tulafono described Heta and its devastation as "weird."
"Looking at the territory from the air and on the ground, this is one hurricane that is very difficult to explain," he said. "It's kind of a weird pattern."
He said the cyclone left behind trails of damage similar to a series of tornadoes, leaving some areas untouched while areas only about 10 feet away were devastated.
"It's very difficult to explain," he said. "All that I have to say is it's weird."