Almost every building in town was severely damaged by the 2009 tsunami , including most houses and a church . Reconstruction work was carried out under the command of the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ) . Two large tsunami waves struck the village . The first wave came from the north and the second wave from the northeast . The Matai saw the tsunami approaching and warned residents of the need to evacuate . Consequentially , almost all residents successfully escaped the tsunami . One victim was recorded in Poloa
2009 tsunami
2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami
Poloa, American Samoa