APIA, Samoa — Convoys of military vehicles brought food, water and medicine to the tsunami-stricken Samoas on Thursday as victims wandered through what was left of their villages.
The death toll rose to 160 as islanders gathered under a traditional meetinghouse to hear a Samoan government minister discuss a plan for a mass funeral and burial. The dead from Tuesday’s earthquake and tsunami include 120 in Samoa, 31 in American Samoa and nine in Tonga.
Hundreds of police and others resumed what Samoan police commander Lilo Maiava called “a painstaking search” for bodies that could continue another three weeks. The United States, Australia and New Zealand sent in supplies and troops.
The U.S. Geological Survey reported that a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck today about 150 miles from Tonga, and 235 miles from Pago Pago. No tsunami warning was issued. The Associated Press
