Relief efforts intensify in Tonga as more international aid arrives
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SYDNEY • Humanitarian aid to Tonga is ramping up after the airport was cleared of ash, making it safe for planes to land, the Red Cross said yesterday, days after a volcanic eruption and tsunami devastated the South Pacific archipelago.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said that with the extra supplies, its staff and volunteers are stepping up deliveries of drinking water and setting up shelters across the country's many islands.
"This disaster has shaken the people of Tonga like nothing we have seen in our lifetime," said Tonga Red Cross secretary-general Sione Taumoefolau.
"The tsunami has wiped out homes and villages, but we are already rebuilding amid the ashes."
The US Agency for International Development said the United States is providing an additional US$2.5 million (S$3.3 million) in humanitarian assistance. The guided-missile destroyer USS Sampson, part of a multinational effort, arrived this week to support the efforts in Tonga.
The Australian government said yesterday it will provide an additional A$2 million (S$1.9 million) in humanitarian funding to Tonga, bringing Australia's commitment to date to US$3 million.
It also said Australia is widening its support, including through the restoration of power and communications, and the storage and delivery of relief supplies.
An Australian warship arrived yesterday, delivering aid without human contact after about two dozen cases of Covid-19 were recorded among the crew.
Tonga's Health Minister Saia Piukala said 29 Covid-19 positive, but asymptomatic, cases had been reported on board the HMAS Adelaide. "Australians from the ship will unload their cargoes and sail from port," he said.
The United Nations, Red Cross and other relief agencies on the ground in Tonga have warned that a Covid-19 outbreak on the island would be catastrophic at this time.
"There is an urgent need for people to have access to safe water sources in the days and weeks to come," said Tonga Red Cross' Mr Taumoefolau.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption on Jan 14 triggered a tsunami that destroyed villages and resorts and knocked out communications for the nation of about 105,000 people. Three people have been reported killed, the authorities said.
REUTERS
