Washington - US President Barack Obama expressed his condolences Wednesday to the families of the tsunami victims on American Samoa, adding that there would be further US aid to alleviate the effects of the disaster.

The US president had already declared the US territory of American Samoa, a neighbour of the also devastated independent state of Samoa, a disaster area.

The US was also available to help "our friends" in the other parts of the region, Obama said, adding that the US agency for catastrophe management, FEMA, had constant contact with local aid workers. He added that the US Coast Guard had been deployed.

More than 120 people have died when a series of tsunami triggered by a magnitude-8.0 earthquake swept across the South Pacific Tuesday. (dpa)