American Samoa, 2025

High Surf in American Samoa, August 12, 2025

August 12, 2025 · NWS ASO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A strong southerly swell generated by a powerful storm to the south moved through the coastal waters of American Samoa on August 12. Surf heights along the southern shores were projected to reach up to 11 feet.

The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
1
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS ASO wrote it up.

A strong southerly swell generated by a powerful storm to the south moved through the coastal waters of American Samoa on August 12. Surf heights along the southern shores were projected to reach up to 11 feet.

Event by event

1 high surf. Local standard time, as filed.

High Surf, Tutuila

When
August 12, 12:00 PM SST to 8:00 PM SST
Where
Tutuila forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries
1 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by
Broadcast Media

According to KHJ News, a 15-year-old boy died on the afternoon of the 12th after being swept away by high surf while swimming at the Leala Sliding Rocks shoreline on Tutuila island, near the villages of Vailoatai and Taputimu.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
High Surf, Tutuila2025-08-1215MaleOutside/Open AreasDirect

What these are

High Surf
Large waves breaking on the shore that caused damage, erosion or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in American Samoa in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in American Samoa, August 2025

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1290323.