A NZ woman whose home and possessions were washed away by the tsunami found the looting that followed tougher to deal with.

The parents of two girls killed in Samoa's tsunami describe their ordeal as New Zealand's death toll rises to seven.

In the hills above the stricken south coast of Samoa, 49 people are huddled under one tarpaulin.

As the water receded Ioka Fa'aliga-Fauena Yi clutched the body of her lifeless baby, said a prayer and sucked his nose.

The official death toll from Wednesday's quake stood at 809 last night, but the Indonesian Red Cross believes up to 4,000 people are lying beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Three adults and two children among those confirmed to have died in Wednesday's tragedy.

John Key has arrived in Samoa to see for himself the destruction caused by this week's earthquake and tsunami.

84-year-old South Auckland grandmother is among those confirmed dead.

What seems to have gone majorly wrong is communication, and that's no small problem, reports Catherine Masters.

A naked 84-year-old Lemafa Atia'e wasn't afraid as he clung for his life to his neighbour's steel house post while waves crashed over him.

Parents blame themselves for child's death because they tried to flee torrent in a rental car instead of running for high ground, says a family friend.

"I knew something was coming. Something in my head said: if the quake is that big, it means it was close."