Acting Prime Minister Bill English reports a NZer has died in Samoa according to family members.  Official confirmation is yet to come in however Mr English describes the source as “reliable”.

The death is a direct result of the tsunami.

Mr English says “there are likely to be more New Zealand fatalities”.

Meanwhile Samoa’s disaster management office says at least 100 people may be dead after the large tsunami hit the country this morning, many more are missing.

The wave was sparked by a magnitude 8.3 earthquake at 6:48am NZ time, 200kms south of Apia and just 35kms deep.