APIA, Samoa—Fears grew in tsunami-battered Samoa Saturday of deadly outbreaks of disease in the wake of the tragedy as planeloads of medical supplies were rushed to the Pacific island nation.

Following Tuesday's tsunami, spawned by a massive 8.0-magnitude undersea quake, the number of dead has reached at least 180 in Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga.

Dr Limbo Fiu, the clinical manager for the national health service in Samoa told reporters there would be more fatalities.

"In a few weeks, we will see many people sick with gastroenteritis and diarrhea. That will affect the young and the elderly. Deaths are inevitable."

A New Zealand Air Force Boeing 757 landed in Samoa Saturday carrying police dog search teams, medical personnel, and a surgical team, including Samoan-speaking doctors and nurses.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, who toured the stricken area on Friday, said the risk of disease was raised in meetings with local medical teams and New Zealand would send medics who specialized in infectious diseases.

In the worst-hit areas along the southern coast of the main Samoan island of Upolu, families have abandoned their devastated villages and moved inland to higher ground where they are setting up crude homes beneath tarpaulins and tents.

They are refusing to return to their traditional coastal settlements, Rosemarie North of the Samoa Red Cross told AFP.

"We asked 25 groups if they would return to the coast and 24 said 'no way, this is our village now,'" she said.

"They have made themselves comfortable but this is posing problems for relief workers."

The urgent concern for the aid groups tracking through the bush to find the villages is to ensure the homeless villagers have supplies of clean water and there are satisfactory sanitary facilities, North said.