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A new tsunami warning caused fresh panic on the devastated islands of Samoa last night as people again scrambled for high ground.
Others stayed put, confused by conflicting broadcasts. Shortly after 6pm, local television urged people to get to high ground, but radio said there was nothing to worry about.
Days of aftershocks were predicted after yesterday's tsunamis wiped out whole villages, killing at least 89 people in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga.
That number is expected to rise today as the debris is cleared.
The massive earthquake, measuring 8.3 on the Richter Scale, was felt at 6.48am New Zealand time and triggered a series of mammoth waves.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Honolulu issued a tsunami warning to a large swathe of the South Pacific, including NZ, Fiji and Tonga.
Last night, 63 people were confirmed dead in Samoa and 19 in American Samoa. In Tonga, seven were confirmed dead and three were missing.
At least one New Zealander is believed dead in Samoa and nine others were injured. An Australian woman celebrating her 50th birthday was also killed and six other Australians were unaccounted for.
It is understood a large number of the dead are children or elderly, as they could not get away fast enough.
NZ-educated resort owner Anna Tui Annandale - one of Samoa's richest women - drowned trying to rescue children, according to Samoa's Deputy Prime Minister, Misa Telefoni.
The quake struck about 205km south of the Samoan capital, Apia.
Walls shook and objects smashed as tremors lasted for about a minute, soon followed by tsunami sirens and mobile phone text warnings.
People gathered at designated evacuation points on high ground until radio broadcasts advised them it was safe to return.
New Zealanders were warned tsunamis might hit the North Island from about 10am - starting at the East Cape - but alerts were scaled back late morning.
Dozens of bodies were yesterday taken by truck to the Apia morgue from coastal villages such as Poutasi and Saleapaga.
In American Samoa, tsunamis swept many cars and people out to sea. The National Park Service was especially badly hit, and many of its workers were unaccounted for last night.
President Barack Obama declared the American territory a "major disaster area" and allocated federal aid to supplement local recovery efforts.
Signs of devastation were everywhere, including a giant boat that had been washed ashore and came to rest on the edge of a highway.
Governor Togiola Tulafono said at least 50 people had been injured.
American Samoa's eastern power plant was swamped, cutting electricity to that part of the territory and hampering efforts to assess casualties and damage.
Red Cross worker Tuuga Tinoisamoa, working from the disaster care centre near the airport at Pago Pago, said the east was "a total loss".
Workers were trying to get aid through a badly damaged route across the main island and were searching for missing people, she said.
A Royal NZ Air Force P3 Orion last night assessed damage from the air and a Hercules was also to be sent.
About 150 New Zealanders have told the High Commission in Apia that they are safe, included 70 from Lalomanu on the southern coast of Upolu Island, which was hit hard by the tsunami.
In Wellington, Acting Prime Minister Bill English said some of the Kiwis turning up at the high commission had lost passports, baggage, money, everything. Diplomatic staff were helping them until they could be evacuated.
Oxfam urged New Zealanders to pledge their support. The aid agency said it was working with the Red Cross and UN agencies and liaising with its Samoan partner organisation, Women in Business Development.
Sina Faaiuga, a health planner at the Ministry of Health in Apia, said most of those killed were infants or elderly, because "they couldn't get away quick enough".
She said this was particularly sad in light of the annual "White Sunday" next weekend - a day dedicated to celebrating the importance of children.
An Aucklander, who did not want to be named, said he had relatives in the village of Malaela, where at least seven people were killed.
He said fales, wooden houses and even some concrete structures had been destroyed. "My cousins were lucky. Immediately after the earthquake they all started running inland, but some people weren't so lucky."
He said Samoa pioneered the concept of fales on the shore for tourists and unfortunately they were the worst hit.
"They would have just taken the full force of the waves coming in."
The man had heard Savai'i Island had been pushed up by the earthquake.
"We've had reports that people on Savai'i couldn't see the sea because it [the island] had been pushed up so high."
Kisa Kupa, a New Zealand citizen who lives on Upolu, said her children were terrifed as the house shook and objects smashed to the ground.
Sirens went off all over the island and family in Toamua were evacuated from their homes, she said.
A TVNZ cameraman was at a beach fale about to have breakfast when he saw waves breaking before the reef.
He said he had about 30 seconds to get from the chalet to the hills.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says New Zealanders concerned about relatives in Samoa can call (04) 439-8000.
- ADDITIONAL REPORTING: AP, NZPA
How you can help
Pacific Cooperation Foundation
Deposits can be made at at any Westpac branch. All the money raised will go to the Samoan Government
Red Cross
- Make a secure online donation at www.redcross.org.nz
- Send cheques to the Samoan Red Cross Fund, PO Box 12140, Thorndon, Wellington 6144
- Call 0900 31 100 to make an automatic $20 donation
- Make a donation at any NZ Red Cross office
ANZ bank
Make a donation at any ANZ bank branch, or donate directly to the ANZ appeal account: 01 1839 0143546 00
