"Olaf has made a direct hit on American Samoa's Manua Islands and most people have weathered the storm," said Kevin Vang, coordinator of the Australian-Pacific Centre for Emergency and Disaster Information.

"There are reports of widespread damage to buildings and infrastructure and about 1,000 people are still sheltered in the main high school and churches," Vang said.

Olaf is a category 5 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane scale. Category 5 is the strongest on the scale, capable of causing 18-meter waves. Cyclone Nancy, a Category 2 on the scale, yesterday hit the nearby Cook Islands, Vang said.

About 1,300 people live on the three Manua islands. About 179,446 people live in American Samoa and 21,200 on the Cook Islands, a group of 16 islands.

Telephone service to the Manua Islands of Ta'u, Ofu and Olosega was interrupted and officials were waiting for reports of damage after the storm crossed the area at about 7 a.m. Hawai'i time.

The National Weather Service had warned that the Manua Islands, which also are part of American Samoa, could be devastated by wind up to 140 mph, with higher gusts.

The Manua Islands are home to about 2,000 people.

Olaf had wind gusts up to 190 mph, and giant waves were likely to cause flooding in low-lying areas, the weather service said.

Gov. Togiola Tulafono had already declared a state of emergency yesterday and asked President Bush to issue a disaster declaration as officials warned of an "extremely dangerous" storm.

However, Tutuila was not hit as hard as initially expected, and Tulafono ordered government workers to return to their jobs today. He said the territorial government would operate normally on the main island.

Schools remained closed, but teachers were told to report to prepare for resumption of classes tomorrow.

Two landslides were reported on Tutuila's north shore.

The three hardware stores in Pago Pago ran out of plywood and generators as residents prepared for the approaching storm, and the Samoa News, the territory's only daily newspaper, canceled today's edition.

The last major hurricane to hit the area was Heta, which plowed through American Samoa and neighboring Samoa in January 2004 with wind gusting to 200 mph.

Heta damaged more than 4,600 homes in American Samoa, according to the American Red Cross. It also devastated up to 90 percent of the crops on Samoa.

American Samoa, in the South Pacific, is the United States' southernmost territory.