New Zealand is ready to assist Tonga in its recovery from Saturday night’s undersea eruption and tsunami, with two Royal New Zealand Navy ships departing from the country yesterday.
“Following the successful surveillance and reconnaissance flight of a New Zealand P-3K2 Orion on Monday, imagery and details have been sent to relevant authorities in Tonga, to aid in decisions about what support is most needed,” Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta said.
“However, images show ashfall on the Nuku’alofa airport runway that must be cleared before a C-130 Hercules flight with humanitarian assistance can land.”
Communication issues caused by the eruption have made New Zealand’s disaster response to Tonga particularly challenging, forcing the government to decide that both the HMNZS Wellington and HMNZS Aotearoa set sail so Tonga so they can respond quickly.
“HMNZS Wellington will be carrying Hydrographic Survey and Diving Teams, as well as an SH-2G(I) Seasprite helicopter. HMNZS Aotearoa will carry bulk water supplies and humanitarian and disaster relief stores,” Defence Minister Peeni Henare said.
“Water is among the highest priorities for Tonga at this stage and HMNZS Aotearoa can carry 250,000 litres, and produce 70,000 litres per day through a desalination plant.”
Meanwhile, the survey and diving teams will be assessing Tonga’s wharf infrastructure to assure the future delivery of aid and support from the sea.
The journey for both ships is expected to take three days and will return to New Zealand if they are no longer required at Tonga.
Aside from the ships, a C-130 Hercules aircraft is on standby to deliver humanitarian aid and disaster relief stores such as collapsible water containers, generators and hygiene kits for families once the island’s airport runway is cleared.
“Other deployments are possible in the next few days, subject to Tongan Government requests and permissions, and COVID-19 border rules,” Minister Mahuta said.
Tonga is currently free of COVID-19 and operates strict border controls to keep the virus out, with all current support being delivered in a contactless way. Officials are in discussions around long-term options for support.
The New Zealand Government has also allocated a further $500,000 in humanitarian assistance, bringing the initial funding to a total of $1 million.
Source: Beehive.govt.nz