New Zealand and U.S. planes found the survivors during a hunt for boats missing from a commercial fishing fleet based in neighboring Samoa.

The Category 5 storm moved out to sea after passing within 60 miles of American Samoa's Manua Islands, where wind and rain destroyed homes, caused landslides and downed power lines.

There were no reports of deaths or injuries from the islands, home to some 2,000 people, but many houses were seriously damaged, officials said.

"I'm just thankful no one is hurt," said Tufele Li'a, Manua district governor. "Homes can be rebuilt and plantations can be replanted but lives can't be replaced."

There have been no reports from the islands of Olosega and Ofu, where communications have been down since Tuesday.

The villages of Ta'u and Faleasao appear to have taken the brunt of the storm.

"Most of the homes are gone and in Faleasao, the elementary school is all flooded because of the waves," Ale Filoialii, head of the American Samoa TeleCommunications Authority, said by telephone last night. "Some homes are standing without roofs."

Olaf had gusts of up to 190 mph, and sent waves 30 to 40 feet high onto the shores of Ta'u, Ofu and Olosega, the National Weather Service said. The main island of Tutuila had two landslides.

As the cleanup began, Gov. Togiola Tulafono urged the islands' 2,000 residents to help each other however they could.

"We all need each other's support, help and cooperation," he said.

Tulafono ordered government workers to return to their jobs yesterday. Teachers were told that classes would resume today.

The people rescued were found floating in a life raft. They had been aboard an unnamed vessel, reported to be a Samoan boat with a local crew, that sank yesterday in 50-foot waves and 120 mph winds about 95 miles north of Samoa.

New Zealand Rescue Coordination Center spokesman Steve Corbett said a New Zealand air force Orion airplane resumed searching for the two crew members who were still missing, and was also looking for a boat reported missing overnight in the area with seven crew on board.

Heidi Brook, a spokeswoman for the center, said searching planes had so far located a total of 26 people and four boats in difficulty in the seas north of Samoa and around American Samoa.

A U.S. Coast Guard Hercules had located the missing U.S.-registered fishing boat Princess Karlina about 210 miles east of American Samoa.

The rescue center said a commercial vessel reached the disabled Princess Karlina overnight. The rescue vessel helped the fishing boat restart its motors and it was heading back to port.

The New Zealand airplane had earlier reported finding a fishing vessel that had been reported missing and all on board were safe, although three were injured.

Corbett said a rescue vessel had taken the boat in tow during the night and it was headed for port at Apia, the capital of the island nation of Samoa.

The storm passed 50 miles to the north of Samoa, officials said. Prior to its change of track, the storm was heading directly toward the small nation, prompting it to declare a state of emergency.

"It's already being referred to as 'Samoa's Great Escape,"' said Poloma Komiti, deputy chairman of the nation's National Disaster Management Committee.

Why Olaf changed course "is a bafflement to the meteorological people," he said.

Olaf was expected to head toward the southern Cook Islands, which suffered glancing blows from Cyclones Nancy and Meena in the past two weeks.

The last major hurricane to hit American Samoa and Samoa was Heta, which plowed through in January 2004 with winds 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.