Tropical Cyclone hits American Samoa

Tropical Cyclone Rene hit the sparsely populated island of Manua with sustained winds of 120kph Friday afternoon.

The storm is expected to arrive at the capital city of Pago Pago in the evening. As of 3pm local time Friday, the storm was moving southwest at a rate of about 17kph.

Rene may also threaten Samoa, Tokelau Islands, Tonga and Fiji.

Forecasters at the Nadi Tropical Cyclone Center in Fiji issued a gale watch warning for Samoa’s main island of Upolu, home to 135,000, where the September tsunami killed 183 people.