Samoa (formerly known as Western Samoa) consists of two main islands and a collection of smaller islands. The two main islands are Upolu and Savai’i. Upolu is the most populated of Samoa’s two main islands and the location of the country's capital, Apia. The population of Samoa is 195,979 recorded in the last censor dated 2016 (Samoa Bureau of Statistics website). Between the islands of Upolu and Savai’i are the smaller islands of Apolima and Manono.

In addition to the seasonal risk of cyclone, the southern edge of Samoa faces the Tonga Trench leading to the risk of tsunami and earthquake. On 29 September 2009, Samoa was hit by a tsunami, triggered by a magnitude 8.1 earthquake, that caused significant loss of life and damage to the country. Other countries that were affected by the 2009 tsunami were Tonga and American Samoa. Since then the Government of Samoa has been developing their disaster response and early warning capacity to mitigate the risks to the population from natural disasters.

Contact details and social media channels for the Samoa Disaster Management Office (DMO):

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/DMOSamoa/
• Twitter: twitter.com/DMO_Samoa
• Website: https://www.mnre.gov.ws/about-us/divisions/disaster-management-office/
• Email: dmosamoa@gmail.com

The ETC is focused on preparedness activities in Samoa and nearby Pacific Island countries under its Pacific Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) project, led by WFP.