Five days after the catastrophic volcanic eruption and the ensuing tsunami, emergency aid has finally reached Tonga.
Australian and New Zealand officials told the AFP news agency on Thursday that military transport planes loaded with emergency aid had landed at the airport in Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa, after people worked hard to remove a thick layer of volcanic ash.
On the New Zealand plane, there are, among other things, water bottles, equipment for setting up temporary shelter, generators, hygiene equipment and communication equipment, the country’s foreign minister states.
Disaster
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano had a major eruption that caused a tsunami on Saturday. Tonga’s contact with the outside world has been severely limited, as the submarine communication cable that connects the country to the rest of the world was destroyed in the volcanic eruption. It is expected to be out of service for at least a month.
–This weekend it was reported that the eruption led to a tsunami wave of 1.2 meters in Tonga, but on Tuesday the authorities said that some of the waves were up to 15 meters.
The first pictures from the capital show buildings covered in ash, walls that have tipped over, and streets full of stones, tree trunks and other debris.
Three people have been confirmed dead, and the destruction on several islands is massive.
More will help
When the emergency aid channel via the air is now open, several countries are queuing up to receive aid. Japan will send two planes, and a number of countries, from France to China, have indicated that they too will help.
Several ships with emergency aid are also going to the island state, but it is still expected to take a while. The Australians hope to have a ship sent on Friday.
–It is loaded with equipment to purify water and other humanitarian supplies, according to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Water problems
More than 80 percent of the island state’s 100,000 inhabitants have been affected by the disaster, according to the UN.
Currently, the need for clean drinking water is considered to be the most urgent, as the drinking water sources have been polluted by volcanic dust and salt water.
–There is a growing risk of waterborne diseases such as cholera and diarrhea, warns Katie Greenwod from the Pacific Office of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The crops in the country can also be hard hit, according to Fatafehi Fakanafua, who heads the island state’s legislative assembly. With tears in his eyes, he said that “all agriculture is destroyed”, according to AFP.
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