Australia and New Zealand officials announced on Thursday that first aid flights wereon their way to Tonga.
The flights follow the Saturday eruption of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano. The eruption dispersed a thick layer of ash across the island and caused a tsunami that was felt across the Pacific.
The underwater cable providing internet and telecoms connectivity was severed in the disaster. It may take weeks for the cable to be repaired. At first, satellite phones were the only means of communication. However, the owner of the island’s cable said that phone links were being restored late on Wednesday, albeit adding that reconnecting to the internet could still take weeks.
What aircraft has departed for Tonga?
Officials in Australia and New Zealand said that two military transporters should arrive within hours at Tonga’s airport, after the airport’s runway had been cleared of ash, making it safe to land.
“A C17 Globemaster left from Amberley Airport Base around 7 a.m. today (Wednesday, 2000 GMT/UTC),” an Australian defense official told AFP. A second Australian aid flight was set to depart later on Thursday.
The flights will carry humanitarian supplies and telecommunications equipment.
The Australian High Commission in Tonga said that Australia had provided 1 million Australian dollars to the recovery effort.
New Zealand’s foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said that a C-130 Hercules aircraft carrying aid supplies had departed for Tonga from Auckland and would land at about 4pm New Zealand time (0300 GMT).
“The aircraft is carrying humanitarian aid and disaster relief supplies, including water containers, kits for temporary shelters, generators, hygiene and family kits, and communications equipment,” Mahuta said in a statement.
The delivery of supplies will be contactless, Mahuta said. Tonga is COVID-19 free and is worried that the virus could spread to the island along with aid deliveries.
Vaccine access is already widespread but not universal in Tonga.
The Australian military relief ship the HMAS Adelaide is also standing by in Brisbane and is expected to depart for Tonga on Friday.
The ship will carry “water purification equipment and additional humanitarian supplies,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
Tonga’s EU consulate released new pictures of the damage on Wednesday
Japan said on Thursday it would send aid including drinking water and equipment for cleaning volcanic ash. The aid will be sent through the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
Red Cross makes contact with local team after days in dark
Katie Greenwood, Pacific head of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Society, told DW that “there’s mixed news coming out of Tonga.”
“It is very good news we have been able to finally make contact with our team,” Greenwood said. She added that they hadn’t been in contact since Saturday when the eruption took place.
“There’s also some sad news […] that has come out of some reconnaissance trips that have gone out to some of those smaller, low-lying atolls,” Greenwood told DW.
Greenwood said that the reconnaissance trips had found that “most of the structures on those islands have been completely wiped out and destroyed.”
“The death toll did rise slightly yesterday as well,” to three, she added.
Local journalist Marian Kupu told Reuters that Tongans feared they may run out of drinking water.
“Each home has their own tanks of water supply but most of them are filled with dust so it’s not safe for drinking,” Kupu said.
The United Nations said that about 84,000 people, or more than 80% of Tonga’s population, had been badly affected by the disaster.
“They have been affected through loss of houses, loss of communication, what we understand is the issue with the water,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
sdi/msh (AFP, Reuters)
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/tonga-eruption-first-aid-flights-take-off-from-australia-new-zealand/a-60489179?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf