APIA, Samoa (AP) _ South Pacific islanders gathered today to mourn victims of the tsunami that obliterated entire villages on the shores of American Samoa and Samoa.
A monsignor celebrated the first Mass of the day in a 19th century Roman Catholic cathedral on the waterfront of the Samoan capital, Apia. He urged the congregation to unify to rebuild from last week’s disaster.
Unity also was the theme on American Samoa, where residents were set to hold a national prayer service.
Families are still coming to terms with the sudden losses inflicted by Tuesday’s tsunami waves that roared ashore after an underwater earthquake with a magnitude of up to 8.3. The disaster claimed at least 176 lives in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga.