Asau | |
|---|---|
Village & Sub-district | |
 Asau, Savai'i north west coast, NASA photo at an altitude of 192 nautical miles (356 km) | |
  Asau | |
| Coordinates: 13°31′9.8″S 172°38′14″W / 13.519389°S 172.63722°W | |
| Country |  Samoa |
| District | Vaisigano |
| Population (2016) | |
| • Total | 1,133 |
| Time zone | +13 |
| Climate | Am |
Asau is a village situated on the north west coast of Savai'i island in Samoa. It is the capital village of the Vaisigano political district and serves as the main business centre at the west end of the island.[1] The population in 2016 was 1133, a decrease from 1207 in 2011.[2]
The eastern part of the village was destroyed by a lava flow from Mauga Afi in the mid 18th century.[3] Its name is derived from two words: a (what) and sau (come), and may be a linguistic trace of the eruption.[3]
The Asau Airport is an airstrip primarily used for chartered flights.[1] In 2008, an American development company, South Pacific Development, based in Honolulu, made plans to expand Asau Airport and harbour. The company has obtained a 120-year lease for 600 acres (2.4 km2) of prime oceanfront customary land in Sasina village, to build a luxury resort estimated to cost $450 – $500 million US dollars.
The breakwater protecting the bay is an old American airstrip from World War II.
In 1998, bushfires destroyed 30,000 hectares (300 km2) in the area.[4] A further series of fires in September 2008 destroyed more than two thousand acres (8 km2).[1]
- ^ a b c [1] Democracy and custom in Sāmoa: an uneasy alliance by Asofou Soʻo, p. 12. Retrieved 31 October 2009
- ^ "Census 2016 Preliminary count" (PDF). Samoa Bureau of Statistics. 2016. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ a b Fepuleai, Aleni; Weber, Eberhard; Nemeth, Karoly; Muliaina, Tolu (2016). "Eruption Styles of Samoan Volcanoes Represented in Tattooing, Language and Cultural Activities of the Indigenous People". Geoheritage. 9 (3): 395–411. doi:10.1007/s12371-016-0204-1. Retrieved 30 July 2021.
- ^ "DISASTER Hundreds in despair as fire ravages Savaii MP says fire-starter will be banished". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 68, no. 10. 1 October 1998. pp. 48–49. Retrieved 23 August 2021 – via National Library of Australia.