Cyclone Evan

On Wednesday night we were told about a tropical storm headed to Samoa. The next morning, a Peace Corps staff member knocked on our hotel doors, and told us to go to the store nearby, to buy food because the tropical storm had turned into a cyclone, and was expected to hit Apia in the next 7 hours.

Hours before the cyclone hit

Throughout the morning, the rain and wind picked up. Eventually, Apia lost electricity. I’ve never experienced a natural disaster before, so I didn’t know what to expect. I spent a lot of time looking out the windows, seeing the coconut trees blown around because of the high winds. I even went outside a few times to record videos and take photos. Eventually, the nearby river flooded, causing waters waist-deep (probably even higher) to flood the streets, homes, and businesses.

A man rescuing his dog

My roommate Kiri and I decided to keep our minds off of the madness that was going on outside, so we had a dance party in our room. Two guys from Group 83, joined us, along with some girls from my group. It was a lot of fun, and it was nice to not think about the cyclone.

The next day it continued to rain and the winds remained high. It was sad seeing the destruction that Evan caused; a lot of trees got knocked down, and homes were destroyed. Some families lost everything. Apia is starting to pick up after the disaster. People have been scrapping mud off the sidewalks. Others are cleaning up businesses, and cleaning up the trees. The Samoans appear to remain positive after the devastation that was brought upon them.

Because of the cyclone, we missed our swearing-in ceremony that was supposed to take place on Friday. We were looking forward to it because it was going to be at the Charge d'Affairs' home (US Embassy) and the Prime Minister was supposed to be in attendance. We’re having a small ceremony tomorrow. I’m excited to swear-in! I made it through Peace Corps training and a cyclone!