Over 230 Kiwis unaccounted for in Samoa

Officials in Samoa are still trying to track down 231 New Zealanders.

Just two New Zealanders are confirmed dead and one missing presumed dead, among the total as a result of Wednesday morning's 8.3 magnitude quake and following tsunami.

The total death toll has risen to about 150 in Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga but is expected to rise with hundreds still missing.

Entire villages were flattened on the south coast of the Samoan main island of Upolu.

Raglan's Mary Ann White, 55, is the only New Zealand death to be named so far.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) said it was unable to release any information about the others without permission from their families.

A two-year-old Auckland boy is reportedly among those missing. He was swept out to sea as he was playing on the beach with his parents at Lalomanu when the 6m wave came ashore.

His British-born parents were able to swim to safety.

Australian media reported a New Zealand toddler with permanent Australian residency was also among the dead. However, the ministry said that death was not counted as one of its three.

Members of the public have contacted the ministry about roughly 800 New Zealanders who may have been in Samoa at the time. The ministry was aware of 19 New Zealanders injured and 593 were confirmed as alive and well.

The High Commission in Apia was checking on another 231, an MFAT spokesman said.

There was a new phone number for New Zealanders concerned about family members: 0800 432 111.

This has been changed to encourage people to report those they have concerns about and for people who have heard from their loved ones so a list of accounted for people can be updated.

- NZPA