Tsunami: Poutasi remembers

Poutasi today remembered Nonu Maifele Tofilau and his two brothers, among the village's nine tsunami victims. Photo / Supplied

POUTASI - The village of Poutasi on the island of Upolu this morning paid tribute to the nine residents who died in the tsunami last year.

A Church service was held at 6.30am (5.30am NZT) ending at 7.30am - marking the exact hour the tsunami struck Samoa.

The nine members of the village included the wife of the Church Minister, Logo Letone Uili and four young children, three of whom were brothers.

A slideshow of photos of the victims was shown in the Church followed by speeches of remembrance.

Poutasi village was one of the first villages to be hit as the wave travelled towards the rest of the South Coast.

The other coastal villages will also hold their own services to pay tribute to the residents from their villages who died in the tsunami.