Insight for Sunday 20 December 2009

Hundreds of people in Samoa and American Samoa are facing the prospect of Christmas still without adequate shelter and water.

Nearly two-hundred people were killed when an 8.0 magnitude earthquake triggered the tsunami on September 29.

Many of those who survived when the huge waves smashed in to their communities have moved away from the ocean that brought devastation to their family and friends.

With so many connections between New Zealand and the region, the tsunami is one of the most important stories this year and in this Insight reporters, Leilani Momoisea and Clint Owens look back at what they faced on arrival in the region and some of the untold stories of those they met.

See photographs of Samoa and American Somoa following the tsunami.