October 7, 2009, 3:05 pm
The tsunami that rushed ashore last week at the National Park of
American Samoa damaged the visitors center, washed away some artifacts
inside and forced workers to relocate to a two-bedroom apartment,
authorities said Monday.
In neighboring Samoa, the U.N.
children's fund was preparing to begin a mass measles vaccination
program for 11,000 children later this week.
"Measles is always a
threat to children in disaster situations ... because children die from
measles," Dennis McKinlay, UNICEF's New Zealand executive director,
said on Tuesday. Lack of safe water and the potential for disease to
spread rapidly were "the main risk factors" for the Samoan community,
he said.
Up to 4,000 children had been displaced from the tsunami
zone "and that's quite a concern," he added. Children orphaned by the
tsunami or who lost family are being targeted by the agency as part of
a child protection program UNICEF has run in Samoa for some years,
McKinlay noted.
Nearly a week after an 8.3-magnitude earthquake
and the resulting tsunami killed 177 people in the Samoas and Tonga,
officials in American Samoa were still trying to assess the damage to
the 22-square-mile coastal park, the only U.S. park located south of
the equator.
"We haven't been able to assess the actual condition of the park," National Park Service spokeswoman Patti Wold said Monday.
The
park's personnel and volunteers were busy helping to remove debris in
five villages, as well as from the park. The park has 13 workers and
dozens of volunteers.
Waves swept through the park's two-story
headquarters building. The visitors center and the artifacts held
inside were damaged. "We had some tapas, or fine mats. Those were
damaged. And we were able to get one of the local weavers to repair
those, and she brought those back just now," she said.
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