A family of more than 20 people in Matautu is appealing to the public for help to rebuild their home and business after strong waves from tidal surges on Tuesday night damaged their property.

The family operates a tourist business called Palolo Deep. The tidal surges caused substantial damage not only to the beach fales but also to the home where the family lived.

The family describes the ocean as angry that night with big waves smashing against the shoreline. They said the sea level was unusually high and the waves kept coming inland. The strong waves battered against their home, destroying it in the process.

What remains now is damaged property and the family feels that this would impact their business and only source of income.

In an interview with Samoa Observer, Eleitino Laban said 22 members of her household lived in Palolo Deep at Matautu and it has been their home all this time.

"I live here with my siblings and children together with our parents and this place means a lot to us, especially our father," she said.

"We have experienced similar situations with strong currents but this time we are lucky to be alive. The waves were something we had never seen before.

Ms Laban is the daughter of the beach fale owner, Jack Laban. She said the family depends heavily on the revenue from their daily earnings and it is not just a business to them but a place that they call home.

"Palolo Deep has been our main source of income for years and though the challenges that we faced, we still manage to get by with whatever we get," she said.

"We were brought up here and spent all our life and this is our home. We are asking the public for help because we don't have the financial means to rebuild."

Jack Laban said he needs help and he is not financially stable enough to afford to repair the damages.

"I am a poor man and my heart is with Palolo Deep but please people I need help so I can get this going and running again," he said.

The damages from the waves have affected the place they call home and fallen trees have wrecked the roof of their house and the majority of the huts they have for tourists.

Ms. Laban said their biggest concern was the children, some of whom had to return to school and now with the damage and school costs, they were helpless.

A tidal surge is an abnormal rise in seawater level during a storm, measured as the height of the water above the normal predicted astronomical tide. The surge is caused primarily by a storm's winds pushing water onshore.