7.0 Rebuilding/Repair

Recovery and cleanup efforts have been very successful and effective in American Samoa. Government workers who typically work in offices have been sent out to the field to participate in massive cleanup efforts. Additional volunteers were observed helping with the cleanup. A few homes were in the process of being reconstructed and repaired. However, the village of Poloa has decided to wait for FEMA to review the damage before cleanup and reconstruction begins.

Most villages have decided to rebuild similar structures at similar locations. However, many in the city of Poloa have decided to relocate to the upslope parts of the village.

Temporary shelter tents have been provided by FEMA. The Red Cross has provided substantial amounts of water, fruits, and sacks to the people. Additionally, there is a lot of assistance within a village from those who were not affected to those who were.

The people the team met with were very optimistic. While there was understandably a lot of mourning as a result of the tragic losses, people were hopeful about the future.

Figure 96. Repair efforts underway in Satitoa, Western Samoa.

Figure 97. Temporary shelter in Tula, American Samoa. Several similar temporary structures were observed on the island. (14 deg 15'04.56"S, 170 deg 33'54.41").