New Zealand Water Ship Unloads In Tonga

Life-saving water supplies from a New Zealand navy ship were distributed across Tonga’s main island on Friday, as other countries battled the logistics of delivering aid to one of the world’s remotest communities.

Six days after the South Pacific archipelago was devastated by a volcanic eruption and tsunami that deposited a blanket of ash and polluted its water sources, the HMNZS Aotearoa docked in the capital, Nuku’alofa.

The ship carried 250,000 litres of water and desalination equipment able to produce 70,000 litres more per day, New Zealand’s High Commission said.

“Trucks … have begun collecting and delivering water supplies from Aotearoa,” the Commission said on its Facebook page.

The first flights from Australia and New Zealand landed on Thursday with some water as well as shelter, communication equipment and generators.

Underlining the complexity of mounting a contactless international aid operation to one of the few countries free of COVID-19, the Australian plane was turned around mid-flight after PCR tests showed a positive result, an Australian defence spokeswoman told Reuters.

All crew had earlier returned negative rapid antigen tests, she said. The supplies were moved to another flight that took off on Friday.

The salt water from the tsunami spoiled most sources of water and Tongans have been struggling to find clean water as they clear away the ash.

“We are cleaning the ash and have been since Monday,” said Branko Sugar, 61, who runs a bottle shop and fishing charter business from Nuku’alofa.

“Everything is so dusty, and we are running out of water,” he said over a patchy telephone line. “We only have the tap water, and it’s been contaminated. We… can hardly breathe for all the dust.”