An aid flight from New Zealand carrying humanitarian supplies arrived in Tonga on Thursday, five days after the South Pacific island nation was hit by a volcanic eruption and tsunami that devastated communities and spoiled most of its drinking water.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules landed in Tonga's Fua'amotu International Airport, a defence spokesperson said, after a blanket of volcanic ash was cleared off the runway.Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.
Rachael Moore, Australia's high commissioner to Tonga, said the loss of property had been "catastrophic". "Each home has their own tanks of water supply but most of them are filled with dust so it's not safe for drinking," Kupu said."I won't say we are expecting more deaths but as we are speaking the government is trying to fly to the other islands to check over them."People clean debris following volcanic eruption and tsunami, in Nuku'alofa, Tonga January 18, 2022 in this picture obtained from social media on January 19, 2022.
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