Tonga: International aid arrival hampered by COVID
January 21, 2022
An aid flight heading towards volcano-hit Tonga had to return to Australia after a crew member tested positive for COVID-19. This comes a day after the first shipment of aid arrived.
An Australian aircraft carrying humanitarian aid landed at Fua'amotu International Airport, TongaImage: Australian Department Of Defence/REUTERS
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An Australian aid flight bound for Tonga was forced to return after a COVID-19 case was detected onboard, officials said on Friday. The South Pacific island nation, currently COVID-free, has a strict border control policy.
The aid supplies were moved to another flight that took off on Friday, according to an Australian defense spokesperson.
The first shipment of relief supplies from Australia and New Zealand began arriving in Tonga on Thursday. To keep COVID-19 at bay, Tonga currently requires contactless delivery of aid.
Saturday's eruption of the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai underwater volcano covered Tonga in a thick layer of ash and unleashed a tsunami that damaged buildings and resorts along the coastline. At least 3 people were killed.
A tsunami tore apart areas on the coast of Tonga's main island Image: Consulate Of The Kingdom Of Tonga/ZUMA/picture alliance
Telephone communication was restored Wednesday, however, damage to the island's sole undersea internet cable will likely take a month or more to repair.
Tongans have worked for days to clear the island's airport runway of ash to allow aid flights access.
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Water a priority
Officials have said securing clean drinking water is a priority, as ash has contaminated Tonga's drinking water supply, according to the World Health Organization.
A vessel carrying aid from New Zealand arrived Friday, carrying 250,000 litres of water. The ship has the capacity to produce 70,000 litres per day with a desalination device.Ash has contaminated Tonga's water supply, according to the World Health Organization.
An Australian aid vessel is expected to reach Tonga next week. Other aid supplies include emergency shelter, communication equipment and power generators.
International aid efforts mounted
United Nations spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has said assessment teams have reached most parts of the country, including remote and isolated islands.
"We remain seriously concerned about access to safe water for 50,000 people throughout the country. Water quality testing continues, and most people are relying on bottled water," he added.
The UN added on Friday it was focused on getting aid to people of the island on a "no-contact delivery" basis to keep COVID infections away.
Jens Laerke, the spokesman for the office of the UN coordinating humanitarian efforts, said options included shipments from planes being unloaded by local crew and ships being offloaded by cranes while the crew stayed on board.
While Australia has donated $1 million for immediate humanitarian supplies, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Friday that cash donations will need to be followed by further support for rebuilding.
"The impact of this volcanic eruption and the subsequent tsunami and the damage the inundation is causing will be an ongoing challenge for Tonga, particularly in relation to infrastructure," she said.
see/wmr (AFP, Reuters)
Tonga devastated by volcanic eruption, tsunami — in pictures
The catastrophe wreaked havoc in Tonga and sent tsunami waves that hit coastlines as far as Japan and New Zealand.
Image: New Zealand High Commission/ZUMA Wire/imago images
'Unprecedented disaster'
Tonga officials confirmed that at least three people died after a massive undersea volcanic eruption and tsunami hit the Pacific nation — what the government called an "unprecedented disaster." With the country's only internet cable cut, it remains difficult to understand the extent of the damage through patchy satellite phone connections, surveillance flights and satellite images.
Image: New Zealand Defense Force/Getty Images
Smothered in grey dust
Volcanic ash has blanketed Tonga, as seen in this before-and-after image. World Health Organization official Sean Casey said that "the whole country is covered in ash," adding that water contamination is currently the biggest threat to the population. The UN health agency said around 100 houses had been damaged, with 50 destroyed on Tonga's main island of Tongatapu.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai underwater volcano had erupted on Saturday, sending ash some 30 kilometers (19 miles) into the air. It deposited ash, gas and acid rain across a large area of the Pacific. A tsunami followed the volcano, raising waves in Tonga up to 15 meters (50 feet), its government said.
Image: Tonga Geological Services/REUTERS
Sending help
As communication from Tonga remained severed, New Zealand sent surveillance flights to survey the damage. Several international organizations, including the UN and Red Cross, are trying to send aid, but Tonga's airport remains closed. Australia and New Zealand said they would send ships with aid — which could take days due to the massive distance.
Large waves from the volcanic eruption are believed to have caused an oil spill in an area rich in marine biodiversity in Peru. Peruvian authorities said that a ship was loading oil into a refinery on the Pacific coast on Sunday when strong waves moved the boat and caused the spill.
So far, it is the only known oil spill to have have occurred in the Pacific basin after Saturday's eruption.
Image: Martin Mejia/AP Photo/picture alliance
Impacts across Pacific: Tsunami waves reach Japan
Tsunami waves caused by the eruption spread across the Pacific Ocean and hit Japan's coastline. Rafts of farmed oysters in Japan's eastern Mie Prefecture were carried out to sea by the waves.
Image: The Yomiuri Shimbun via AP Images/picture alliance
Impacts across Pacific: Boats damaged in New Zealand
The impact was felt in New Zealand as well. Waves that swept into marinas severely damaged boats, while others in New Zealand said they could hear the eruption.
Image: Tanya White/Northern Advcate/NZME via AP/picture alliance
Previous eruption in 2015
An eruption in 2015, pictured above, caused the formation of a volcanic cone between the islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai. The eruption released dense, particle-rich jets.
Image: New Zealand High Commission/ZUMA Wire/imago images