Six Australians injured in an earthquake and tsunami in Samoa may be flown back to Australia if they are well enough to travel, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says.
Mr Smith said all Australians known to be in Samoa when an earthquake and tsunami pounded the country early on Wednesday (AEST) had been accounted for.
He confirmed four Australians, two women and two children, had lost their lives in the disaster, along with another child, a New Zealand citizen who was an Australian resident.
"What we don't know is whether there were Australians in Samoa who were not known to us either because of registration through Smart Traveller or because of other sources," Mr Smith said.
"We will need a few more days to make certain of that," he said.
A group of 25 Australians and an Australian resident on Thursday afternoon (AEST) arrived in Brisbane on a charter flight which had delivered medical equipment and personnel to Samoa, Mr Smith said.
A C17 RAAF plane carrying emergency supplies and medical personnel had left Richmond airbase and a C130 carrying medical specialists and emergency supplies would arrive in Samoa later on Thursday, he said.
"... Those Australians who have been injured, I'm advised none of the injuries are life threatening but some of them are serious, very serious rib injuries and the like," Mr Smith said.
"If they are able to get on board the plane they will return to Australia via the C17."
An additional charter plane would leave Brisbane on Thursday night and a RAAF Hercules which was in New Zealand had also taken equipment, medical personnel and supplies to Samoa, Mr Smith said.
The foreign minister said he had spoken to his New Zealand counterpart, Murray McCully, who would travel to Samoa on Friday to assess the situation on the ground.
Mr Smith said a Pacific disaster agreement between Australia, New Zealand and France had come into immediate effect and Australia was co-ordinating its response closely with New Zealand.
Governor-General Quentin Bryce has asked all Australians to show their support to the tsunami victims as Samoa embarks on a long road to recovery.
"All Australians will be distressed by the terrible news of the tsunami in Samoa, the earthquake in Indonesia and the typhoon in the Philippines," she told reporters at her Sydney residence Admiralty House on Thursday.
"Australia is home to 40,000 Samoans and I know that we will all come together to support them during this very worrying time for them and their families.
"We Australians are no strangers to natural disasters and this is the time for us to return the generous support that we received in Victoria during the bushfires."
Ms Bryce praised the effort already made by Australia.
"I'm pleased that Australia has moved so quickly to help Samoa to deal with the recovery process in a very practical way with tents, tarpaulins, water bottles, water containers," she said.
"The Boxing Day tsunami in Aceh (in 2004) taught us that there will be a long road to recovery and I urge all Australians to join the people of Samoa on that road to recovery.
"I know that we are assisting victims of the earthquake in Indonesia, and I ask Australians to extend our sympathies and our support to the Indonesian community."
Meanwhile, an expatriate Australian and resident of Samoa for the last 15 years says people are in shock since the tsunami hit.
"All I can say is we're just still numb and shocked," Ms Moore told AAP from Apia.
"Everything we know and love of that coastal area is no longer there.
"There are cars on top of buildings upside down ... well, those buildings that survived.
"There's just total devastation.
"People are just digging around looking for bodies.
"Pretty much every one we know has lost someone."
Ms Moore said mobile phone services were restored on Thursday morning but land-based communication was still down, making it difficult to contact much of the country.
"People don't know whether their families are still missing, whether they've gone to the hills or whether they're in hospital, so it's still very confusing," she said.
"We've just been up to the private hospital to pop in and see if there are any tourists that need anything.
"They said there were three, maybe four waves that hit them - it's phenomenal.
"You can't even imagine what people have been through."
She said hospital patients were expected to be evacuated late on Thursday and Australian medical officers had arrived.
Ms Moore said the Red Cross was establishing centres at each of the worst-hit areas.
"Everybody is pitching in to do everything they possibly can do to help out," Ms Moore said.
Australia is diverting the replenishment oiler HMAS Success to Townsville where it will take on engineering and humanitarian stores to transport to Samoa.
Chief of Joint Operations Command Lieutenant General Mark Evans said defence personnel involved in the operation were confident they had the equipment and skills that can provide practical relief to the people affected by the disaster.
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