WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (BNA) – The Red Cross said on Wednesday that humanitarian aid to Tonga is increasing after ash removal at the airport, making planes safe landing, days after a volcanic eruption and tsunami devastated the South Pacific. The archipelago.
With the extra supplies, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said its staff and volunteers are working to increase the supply of drinking water and create shelters across the country’s islands.
“This disaster has shaken the people of Tonga more than anything we have seen in our lives,” Sioni Taumofulao, Secretary-General of the Tonga Red Cross, said in a statement. “The tsunami wiped out homes and villages, but we’re already rebuilding in the ashes.”
The United States is providing an additional $2.5 million in humanitarian aid, and the guided missile destroyer USS Sampson, part of a multinational effort, arrived this week to support the effort in Tonga, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said.
An Australian warship was arriving in coronavirus-free Tonga on Wednesday evening, delivering aid without human contact after recording about two dozen cases of COVID-19 among the crew. Read more
Broadcom Broadcasting quoted Tonga Health Minister Saya Byukala as saying that 29 positive cases had been reported on board the HMAS Adelaide ship, but that all of the infected staff were asymptomatic.
“The ship will dock and no contact will be made,” said Buyukala. The Australians from the ship will unload their cargo and set sail from port.”
The United Nations, the Red Cross and other aid 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 coming days and weeks,” said Taumofulao. “The ash settled in water tanks, which required time to settle and careful handling before use. It also choked much of the country, including homes and crops.”
The eruption of the Hongqi Tonga-Hongi Hapai volcano triggered tidal waves that devastated villages and resorts and cut off communications for the nation of 105,000 people. Authorities said three people were reported killed.
MI