A BALLARAT teacher injured in Wednesday's devastating South Pacific tsunami will fly home today.Claire Rowlands is expected to be flown to Sydney, where she will be reunited with family members.Her daughter Jane said her mother underwent surgery to prevent infection at a Samoan hospital last night and was preparing to fly home.''They were very worried her injuries would become septic and that the plane flight would exacerbate it,'' Jane told ABC Radio. ''We have heard this morning that she'll be able to fly home today which is incredibly relieving.'' Mrs Rowlands, a Ballarat High School teacher, was holidaying at the Samoan beach resort area of Lalomanu with Mount Clear College teacher Vivien Hodgins, 56, when the tsunami hit.Ms Hodgins, a mother-of-two, was tragically killed during the disaster. ''While we are ecstatic and relieved about mum, we are so devastated about Viv,'' Jane said.She said her mother and Ms Hodgins had been together on the beach when they heard a tremor. ''Viv messaged our family and her family to say that there'd been a tremor and that was the last that we had heard.'' The Rowlands family then spent ''horrible hours waiting'' to find out their whereabouts. ''And then we just got word that mum had registered with a hospital which was hugely exciting but then very suddenly shocking to hear about Viv.'' Described as a ''surrogate mum'' Jane said Ms Hodgins had been a friend of her mother's for more than 30 years. ''It's been very difficult for mum to talk at great length. ''Obviously she's just absolutely traumatised over the loss of her friend.''