New Zealand ships take relief supplies to tsunami-hit Tonga as island tries to remain Covid-free
- The Pacific island nation, reeling from a volcanic eruption and tsunami, is trying to avoid a Covid-19 outbreak as aid agencies draw up plans to send supplies
- China, Japan and Australia have all pledged to send aid or financial help; including vital water supplies which have been contaminated by ash from the volcano
Hundreds of homes in Tonga’s smaller outer islands have been destroyed, and at least three people were killed after Saturday’s huge eruption triggered tsunami waves, which rolled over the islands causing what the government has called “an unprecedented disaster”.
With communications badly hampered by the severing of an undersea cable, information on the scale of the devastation has mostly come from reconnaissance aircraft.
“For the people of Tonga, we’re heading their way now with a whole lot of water,” Simon Griffiths, captain of the HMNZS Aotearoa, said in a release.
Griffiths said his ship was carrying 250,000 litres of water, and had the capacity to produce another 70,000 litres a day, along with other supplies.
New Zealand’s foreign ministry said the Tongan government has approved the arrival of Aotearoa and the HMNZS Wellington in the Covid-free nation, where concerns about a potential coronavirus outbreak are likely to complicate relief efforts.
