The tsunami and earthquake in Sumatra and Samoa

Sumatra and Samoa Disasters

This gallery gives an insight into the damage and devastation caused in the Asia-Pacific region last week after suffering two natural disasters within hours of each other.

The death toll from last Wednesday’s 7.6-magnitude earthquake in Sumatra island is expected to be in the thousands, once all the missing people are officially declared dead.

The underwater quake devastated ten districts in the Western Sumatra province including the capital, Padang, a city of 900,000 people, where scores of tall buildings, including hotels, a mall, mosques and schools, came crashing down.

In addition, the quake triggered huge landslides in the hills of Pariaman district where entire villages were wiped out.

Hours before an 8.3-magnitude earthquake in the South Pacific triggered a tsunami that killed at least 164 people in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga.