The tidal wave that washed over Samoa devastated the family of a Centralia woman, Lesina Reyes, who lost at least two cousins in Tuesday’s tsunami.

    Reyes, 33, who was born in American Samoa, said she talked to her aunt this morning in Western Samoa about the tsunami.

    “The wave came in, smashed all the houses on the beach … and swallowed the kids while the adults were able to hold on to the debris,” said Reyes.

    Two of her cousins are confirmed dead. Four are missing.

    “They’re all kids,” Reyes said this morning. “That generation is gone.”

    Reyes is spending today trying to set up bank accounts to raise money for her family’s village in a corner of Western Samoa. She doesn’t want that devastated area to be forgotten after President Barack Obama pledged money to help the nearby American territory.

    “That part of the island (chain) is very poor, and they’re independent,” Reyes said.

    Reyes urges donations to the American Red Cross in the name of Samoa.

    Those interested in helping directly can contact her at 388-2204.

Tsunami Warning Issued During Tidal Wave Drill

    The timing was either extraordinarily apt or painfully coincidental.

    A multi-county tidal wave disaster drill was underway Tuesday when a real tsunami warning was issued for much of the West Coast after a major earthquake struck the southwest Pacific.

    The quake reportedly killed as many as 100 people. Vehicles and people were swept out to sea by the surging waters hitting American Samoa.

    As disaster struck in the Pacific, officials in Southwest Washington were preparing for a similar disaster here.

    Multiple Lewis County departments took part in the simulated disaster Tuesday, testing the ability of the county to react if a tsunami hits.

    The “Coastal Crest” exercise was conducted by Homeland Security Region 3, which consists of Lewis, Thurston, Mason, Grays Harbor and Pacific Counties.

    From 9 a.m. to about 3 p.m., the Lewis County Department of Emergency Management, Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, Morton General Hospital and others reacted to a mock exercise involving injured victims and even fake reporters.

    Tested were evacuation procedures, communications and emergency management in general.