PAGO PAGO, American Samoa » Tropical Cyclone Rene, with winds of more than 100 miles an hour, skimmed past American Samoa yesterday and was headed for Tonga last night.

The storm was intensifying and could bring heavy rain and thunderstorms, powerful sea surges, pounding waves and widespread coastal flooding to Tonga, forecasters said.

The storm was expected to reach Tonga overnight.

Eddie Kelemeni, the senior pastor at First United Methodist Church in Hono-lulu, has a brother and sister in Tonga.

“;I think people there are alert now. They have telecommunications now. They are more prepared for it,”; he said.

Annie Kaneshiro, honorary consular agent at the Tongan Consular Agency in Honolulu, said she talked to people in Tonga yesterday morning.

“;They are very calm there,”; she said. “;They have made preparations.”;

Both Tonga and American Samoa are still recovering from the tsunami on Sept. 29 that killed more than 200 people in the Samoan islands and Tonga.

Emergency officials in the American Samoa capital of Pago Pago said there were reports that high winds had downed some trees and electrical lines. The officials also said there was one death indirectly caused by Rene—a 50-year-old man died Friday morning after falling from a two-story building while boarding it up to protect it from the storm.

Rene never made landfall on either the main American Samoa island of Tutuila or the Manu'a island group, but the government planned to conduct an assessment to find out if any damage was caused by the storm.

In American Samoa, several Manu'a residents reached earlier by phone by the Associated Press said the winds had been extremely strong but that they have not heard of any reports of injuries or major damage.

“;A hurricane is something that has happened before and we're used to, unlike the tsunami thing, which was a surprise,”; said Gus Hannemann, former member of the legislature in American Samoa and brother of Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann.

“;As we recover from the events of last September 29th, it is a good feeling that we have placed high priority to help ourselves by preparing and spreading the emergency awareness message,”; said American Samoa Gov. Togiola Tulafono.

Kelemeni said Tongans are not as worried about the wind as they are about anyone stuck on the ocean during the storm.

“;The most dangerous thing is if you are caught in the ocean,”; he said.