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As many of you know, last week Tim Manning, our Deputy Administrator for Protection and National Preparedness, traveled to Hawaii and American Samoa, as part of a previously scheduled trip to meet with our state, territory and local partners and to get an update on how the recovery efforts are going in American Samoa, 18 months after the island was struck by an earthquake and resulting tsunami.

Tim covered a lot of ground during his time there and got to meet with many members of the emergency management team, from the governor, to the territory's emergency medical services team, to village leaders - and we wanted to share some pictures from his trip.


Caption: Deputy Administrator Manning meets with the Chief Fuapopo Avegalio of American Samoa EMS and EMS staff. Chief Avegalio reinforced how critical volunteers are to their work and that they focus on supporting emergency preparedness efforts in their different villages on the island.


Caption: Deputy Administrator Manning talks with the Chief Fuapopo Avegalio of American Samoa EMS. (Courtesy of Bill Thomas, NOAA)



Caption: Deputy Administrator Manning and American Samoa Governor Tulafono after meeting to discuss the ongoing recovery efforts on the island. Among other things, the governor spoke about the territory’s experiences on Friday, March 11, when they and other Pacific islands were at risk of potential impacts from the tsunami. (Courtesy of Bill Thomas, NOAA)



Caption: Deputy Administrator Manning and staff from FEMA’s Recovery Office in American Samoa tour homes being rebuilt for disaster survivors in American Samoa. As part of our work to support the territory’s recovery, FEMA has been building homes, in several stages, for disaster survivors whose houses were destroyed by the tsunami.



Caption: Deputy Administrator Manning speaks to other federal, state and local members of the emergency management team at the PRiMO conference. (Courtsey of Bill Thomas, NOAA)



Caption: Deputy Administrator Manning and PRiMO partners meet with Pago Pago leadership. From left to right: Dr. Jeffrey Payne, Chair of the Pacific Risk Management ‘Ohana (PRiMO); Representative Henry Sesepasara; Pago Pago Council member Pulu Ae Ae, Jr.; Senator Mauga T. Asuaga; Tim; Dr. Karl Kim, Executive Director of the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center at the University of Hawaii; Jim Fernandez, NDPC Chair. (Courtesy of Bill Thomas, NOAA)