Wellington’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday that a New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft arrived in Tonga carrying sanitation, water purification, shelter and sanitation kits, along with generators and communications equipment.
It was expected to remain on the ground for 90 minutes before returning to New Zealand, the statement said.
“There is going to be no contact. We have been strictly disciplined to ensure that COVID is not transmitted in Tonga,” Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour, commander of the New Zealand Joint Forces, told reporters.
In addition, offshore patrol vessel HMNZS Wellington is expected to arrive at Nuku’alofa port on Thursday before other supply ships, according to a statement from the New Zealand government.
The ship is carrying hydrographic and diving personnel, and has a helicopter to assist with supply delivery, the statement said.
Gilmour said another naval ship carrying 250,000 liters of water would reach Tonga on Friday.
According to Australia’s Minister of International Development, the first of two C-17 Royal Australian Air Force aircraft also landed in Tonga.
“Landed! [Australia]The first RAAF flight carrying much-needed humanitarian supplies has landed in Tonga, and a second C-17 is now on the way,” Minister Jed Cecelja tweeted on Thursday. , distributes PPEs, water containers and other supplies to support immediate needs.”
Meanwhile, Australia’s Defense Department wrote on Twitter on Thursday, another Australian Navy ship carrying aid will be leaving Brisbane for Tonga “soon”.
“Tonga remains Covid-19 free and I assure you” [Tongan] Prime Minister [Siaosi] “We are making Australia’s support in a COVID-safe manner a top priority,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a statement on Wednesday.
Morrison said Australia had made an initial pledge of more than $700,000 in an effort to recover Tonga.
Japan’s defense ministry said on Thursday it would also send two C-130 aircraft loaded with drinking water to Tonga.
Tonga’s ‘unprecedented disaster’
Tongan’s prime minister said at least three people were killed and several others were injured.
All homes on Mango island – where 36 people live – were destroyed, while only two homes remain on Phonoifua island, and widespread damage has been reported on Nomuka island – home to 239 people, he said.
The island nation of more than 100,000 people was cut off from the rest of the world after an explosion damaged a large underwater cable. Some of the smaller islands are still offline, with officials and rescue workers rushing to establish communications.
Photos showed entire island communities covered in a thick layer of brown ash, with homes and buildings destroyed and coastal roads badly damaged.
According to the Red Cross, ash, combined with tsunamis, contaminated water and stagnant water from food sources.
Aid supplies were disrupted as ash fell on the airport’s runway, forcing New Zealand to send two naval ships to aid in recovery on Tuesday.
Ensuring access to safe drinking water is an important priority for support groups, who are concerned about the spread of diseases such as diarrhea and cholera.
The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai volcano sent shock waves around the world and produced tsunami waves that were felt thousands of kilometers away, killing at least two people in Peru.
The volcano sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, and is approximately 65 kilometers (40 mi) north of the capital of Tonga.
On Tuesday, New Zealand’s foreign ministry warned that the volcano was likely to erupt further, posing a tsunami threat.
The ministry said the estimate was based on modeling by New Zealand’s geological research institute, GNS Science. “The most likely scenario is for Tonga and New Zealand with ongoing tsunami risk, to continue for the next several days to weeks,” it said.
CNN’s Angus Watson in Sydney, Caitlin McGee in Auckland, Eric Cheung, Lizzie Yee and Alex Stambaugh in Hong Kong contributed reporting