America's North Shore Journal

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The 154th Medical Group/Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear and Explosives Enhanced Response Force Package, U.S. Air National Guardsmen, Tech. Sgt. Carissa Maxson watches the shorelines of Pago Pago, American Samoa, in disbelief as she drives by them on Oct. 1. Maxson is conducting assessments of the area after a tsunami caused a great amount of structural damage to the island villages Sept. 29. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Cohen Young

FEMA

Federal Response
Region IX:

• RRCC at Level 1 (24/7) with all ESFs supporting

FEMA Headquarters:

• FEMA NRCC is at Level 1 (24/7) with selected ESFs

Status of Response:

• Governor Togiola Tulafono’s priorities:
  • Search and rescue (2 confirmed missing)
  • Power restoration
  • Complete damage assessments
• 32 confirmed fatalities on American Samoa.
• 12 shelters open with 1,912 occupants.
• 129 injured were treated at LBJ Medical Center, which is currently open and operational.
• Five generators are on the ground in American Soma.  Four generators are currently enroute from Hickman Air Force Base in Hawaii and an additional flight is scheduled to depart at 2:00 P.M. EDT October 2 with two additional generators.
• One of two power plants is operational.  Approximately 6,000 customers remain without power in the Eastern District.  Local power authorities are anticipating temporary power restoration within two weeks.
• Water systems are nearly restored island wide.
• Most major roads are open and passable. Bridge to Leone is open to one way traffic.
• FAA reports that Pago Pago Airport has reopened with operational limitations.
• Seaport is operational with no restrictions.
• Western District of Tutuila schools are open.
• Cellular telephone service is available with limitations.
• Gasoline and Diesel Fuel supplies are plentiful.  No immediate aviation fuel shortages anticipated, however Pago Pago Airport requested next scheduled delivery of aviation fuel (October 20) be moved up to next week.  (Region IX, FEMA HQ)

A boat sits adrift in Pago Pago, American Samoa, Oct. 1, after a tsunami carried it away from the harbor along with debris while also causing a great amount of structural damage to the island villages, Sept. 29. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Cohen Young

Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs

The medical support situation in American Samoa has stabilized amid ongoing U.S. relief efforts after a massive tsunami devastated the area this week, a Defense Department official said Oct. 2.

Medical triage, casualty care, shelter and bedding are being administered to those affected by the disaster, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.

“It does appear as if the situation is stabilizing a bit — at least the medical support situation has stabilized,” he said. “The hospital there is open, [and] the [Veterans Affairs] clinic on the island has been providing some additional assistance in the treatment of injured there.”

An 8.4 magnitude earthquake struck near the Samoa Islands region Sept. 29, causing devastating 15-to-20-foot-high waves to cascade inland across the South Pacific archipelago, including the eastern side of American Samoa, a U.S. possession.

Three C-17 Globemaster III cargo planes flew from Hawaii to deliver personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, food and water, and mortuary-affairs assets. A fourth flight is expected to arrive soon, and two other C-17 flights are being coordinated, Whitman said.

“It’s the very basic types of things that you need when people are all of a sudden without any shelter and all of a sudden need assistance with the basic necessities,” Whitman said. “Food, personal hygiene items, that type of [assistance].”

Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers and subject-matter experts are working on power regeneration and handling issues related to debris and waste water.

The request for Defense Department assistance in providing medical triage, hazardous material response, mass casualty care and strategic airlift came from FEMA.

FEMA maintains well-stocked warehouses in Guam and Honolulu and is deploying resources to support 70,000 survivors in American Samoa survivors over the coming week.

A home's foundation sits on an angle in Pago Pago, American Samoa, on Oct. 1 after the foundation collapsed as a result after a tsunami. Photo by Tech. Sgt. Cohen Young

Defense Media Activity – Hawaii News Bureau

Hawaii Guardsmen from the U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Air National Guard Assessed damages in the Pago Pago and Leone villages of American Samoa on Oct. 1, 2009. More than 30 Active Duty Guardsmen and Guardsmen split into two groups to conduct search and rescue and assessment procedures. The units participating in Operation Wave are the 93rd Civil Support Team, which is a joint unit comprised of active duty Army National Guardsmen and active duty Air National Guardsmen, while the 154th Medical Group/ Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear and Explosives Enhanced Response Force Package are all Air National Guardsmen.

Many of the Soldiers and Airmen were glad to come to American Samoa to help with relief.

“It’s rewarding coming out here to something like this to help those in need,” said 154th ANG CERFP Team Leader, Capt. Jason Iyomasa, a native of Honolulu.

Iyomasa and three members of his team joined with Maj. Joe Laurel, the 93rd CST Team leader and Honolulu native and nine of his members as they coordinated with local Pago Pago Harbor authorities with the assessing the needs of the area. The remaining members traveled to Leone to help officials locate a child that was reported missing at the conclusion of the tsunami.

“We met our objectives of checking the safety of individuals and families, assisting local authorities with search and rescue efforts and assessing vital needs of the local populace in the impacted areas,” said Laurel.

“Our coordination with local authorities went very well,” Laurel added.

The main problem was structural as many people were displaced because their homes were destroyed.

“As our search and rescue efforts finish, we now will start to focus on finding shelters for the many displaced, along with finding distribution points for food and water,” said Laurel.

Military members acted quickly in responding to the tsunami, which occurred on Sept. 29. The first teams left Hickam AFB, HI on Sept. 30, which illustrates the awareness and keen sense of urgency that U.S. forces have within the Pacific Command.

National Guard Bureau

Capt. Nathaniel Duff is a physician’s assistant with the 154th Wing of the Hawaii Air National Guard based at Hickam Air Force Base. He is a member of the medical team embedded with the CBRNE Enhanced Response Force Package that was on the first C-17 Globemaster III sent to American Samoa, Sept. 30.

The mission of the CERFP’s medical team is to perform medical triage and initial treatment, provide emergency medical treatment, stage for military and civilian evacuation and provide medical support to patient decontamination and search and extraction teams.

Below is an email that Duff sent to his unit once he arrived in the tsunami-torn territory:

“Just finished debriefing Day 1. Today, we broke our medical search and extraction teams into two groups. I was the designated medical team leader for the group that was deployed to the west side of American Samoa in a small village called Leone.

“Capt. [Jason] Iyomasa and Team 2 went toward Pago Pago. It was a simple fishing village that looked much like rural villages in southern Thailand. We contacted the village chief, who had been waiting since the tsunami hit for help. We were the first contact his village had with any government relief agency.

“The village included at least 30-50 families, a school and a temple/church. Very beautiful spot with clear water and a beach surrounded by lush, verdant forest covered mountains. It was absolutely devastated.

“Most of the village was in rubble and washed deep into the tropical mangrove forest up toward the mountains. Entire contents of homes, boats, full-size pick-up trucks and cars carried through the forest and up the mountainside. It must have been a tremendous wall of water to create that much damage.

“After talking with the village chief, we learned that a small, six-year-old boy was missing from his village and an 11-year-old girl was missing from an adjacent village. We set up an organized search grid and went out in five-man teams lead by a local villager into the hot, humid mangrove swamp. The entire area was easily over a mile wide and half-mile deep.

“The air stunk with human and animal excrement, hundreds of dead fish and animals, and rotting food and debris. It was very treacherous wading through knee-deep swamp and climbing over sharp debris with rusty nails, sheet metal, glass and all manner of house debris. We found over-turned trucks 500 yards deep into the jungle upside down in trees.

“The villagers all welcomed us and were grateful that we cared to stop and help, even though we were unsuccessful at locating their child today. The more seriously injured villagers had already been transported to the one hospital in the main town, so we provided basic first aid to any walking wounded, including a big, 300-pound muscular Samoan, nicknamed ‘The General,’ who was injured saving his wife from being washed away. He had three broken ribs and his left leg was swollen with infection from open sores and scrapes.

“We’ve planned two separate missions tomorrow. First, we’ll be sending our search and extraction component along with more equipment for heavy lifting, search cameras, mapping equipment, communications, etc., back to Leone tomorrow.

“Second, we’ve stripped all gear from one CERFP trailer and restocked it specifically for a large medical mission north of Pago Pago. Capt. Iyomasa and Team 2 located a shelter apparently housing about 200 displaced villagers. We’ll be setting up a field triage and first-aid station with the majority of our medical team including myself.

“Looks like we also may be hooking up with at least two Navy corpsman to make this a joint medical effort. The Coast Guard also has a fairly large presence on that side of the island helping to manage the ocean and port damage and hazardous waste, etc.

“Things have been pretty chaotic, since we were essentially in the first wave of ‘boots-on-the-ground.’ It was very cool to know that we have been able to effectively operate our CERFP mission essentially within 24 hours of being called to duty from Hawaii.

“Logistics and communications have been difficult, to say the least, but everyone in our unit has risen to the challenge in unique ways. You should be very proud to see how mature and professional the CERFP team has performed, but especially our own 154th Medical Group team despite the long hours, heat, stress and emotional exhaustion.”