Tsunami waves smashed into the Pacific island nations of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga on Sept. 29, destroying in minutes a paradise of palm trees, resorts and pristine beaches.

The tsunamis killed around 200 people on the three islands. Some 20 villages were destroyed in Samoa, leaving 3,500 people homeless, and scores flattened in nearby American Samoa.

On Oct. 8 three powerful undersea earthquakes triggered tsunami warnings for the whole southwestern Pacific. Islanders fled to higher ground amid fears of a second devastating tsunami in as many weeks, but the wave proved to be tiny and harmless.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center later cancelled its warning after a 4 cm tsunami was recorded at Lunganville on Espiritu Santo island in Vanuatu, close to the epicentre of the quakes.