Ana Lulai and Rachel Loane were cousins and best friends. They had just finished breakfast on Wednesday and were preparing for school. Then the waves hit.

Lucky survivors of Samoa's deadly tsunami looked like they'd been "churned up in a mass of dirty washing machines" says a surgeon helping on the ground.

More tales of survival and tragedy emerge from the tsunami battered islands.

Members of Parliament are working alongside members of the public as a huge international relief effort gets under way in Samoa and Tonga.

Samoa’s Prime Minister was near tears last night as he addressed his tsunami-hit nation.

Andy and Angie Belcher didn't even have time to unpack their bags before the tsunami hit.

As day breaks the clean-up begins in the coastal area of south-east Upolu Island, which bore the brunt of the post-quake sea surge.

A journalist with the Samoan Observer describes the fear and heartbreak as the terrible events unfolded.

Actress and psychologist Pamela Stephenson described the earthquake in Samoa as scary as hell.

Salamasina Taufua tried desperately to keep her 8-month-old baby above water before Samoa's tsunami forced her to let her go.

New Zealand tourists have told of their terror when the tsunami smashed through their Samoan beach resort.

The tsunami death toll reaches at least 149 as new tales of devastation emerge.

Many of the Kiwis in a Samoan hospital suffered internal injuries when struck by the seven metre high tsunami waves, says a NZ MP who visited them.

A group of high school students spent a day and night stranded on a tiny island off Samoa, after watching the tsunami sweep away their belongings.