On Tuesday, Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga, were hit by a tsunami. There's currently a travel warning suggesting that those intrepid types who are Pacific island bound stay away while the island populations grapple with the aftermath of the big waves.

Those warnings don't always work -- plus, those who had planned to do aid work are going anyways. Here's a post from a soon to be Peace Corps volunteer:

Coming to Samoa after a natural disaster like this one is intimidating, but also very uplifting to know that so many people are already coming together to begin relief work there and that I will soon have the opportunity to be a part of it. I guess now that something like this has happened so close to my arriving, I am more prepared for it if it happens again.--Talofa from Samoa

thUMBERLLA reports the losss of a handful of travelers after the disaster hit:

One Australian and one New Zealander is dead and atleast six Australians are missing after an earthquake and tsunami struck Samoa and American Samoa this morning. --thUmbrella

There's a post on Matador from a New Zealand based teacher who has Samoan students in her class; it's just heartbreaking:

I think he just wanted to sit down for a while and talk about life in Samoa. In effect, his reflections seemed to be asking why he is here in New Zealand when he should be back in Samoa where life is simple and you don't have to pay for food, housing, and water. You just build your house, grow your food, and spend time with your family.--Three Spoons

There are some before and after photos posted on Brooke's Blog -- and news video clip with some devastating footage of the destruction.

Samoa is 2600 miles from Hawaii and 1600 miles from New Zealand. I know this because I looked it up yesterday for a post about the tsunami watch in Hawaii. The upshot of these numbers, which might not mean much as just numbers, is that Samoa is really far away from anywhere else. As such, it's not a heavily trafficked destination for travelers -- flights don't stop there anymore on their way to [fill in the blank]. With the extent of the damage, it could be a while before we find first person accounts posted about what happened on the ground and in the water. I'll be watching for more reports from travelers -- and keeping the people of the Pacific in my heart.