Tonga volcano: NZ Defence Force poised to help, but no direct contact with Tonga Government yet

Sunday, 16 January 2022

A New Zealand navy ship is ready to be deployed to Tonga if needed, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says.

The Defence Force is ready to send help to Tonga as soon as Monday morning, but no direct contact has been established with the Tonga government as yet, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said.

In a media conference on Sunday, Ardern said the Government could deploy within eight hours, but needed to establish what supplies were needed, and what the situation was like on the ground.

A tsunami hit Tonga, after a massive eruption from an underwater volcano near the Pacific Island nation on Saturday, causing widespread damage and communication to be cut with the island nation.

Ardern said Covid-19 safety was important, and all New Zealand Defence Force personnel were fully vaccinated and would follow any protocols the Tonga Government set.

Kiwis have been urged to donate cash rather than goods, due to the difficulties in transporting supplies to the stricken islands.

The New Zealand Government was in contact with its High Commission in Tonga, and was still urgently trying to find out as much as they could about what was happening on the ground. There have been no reports of death, Ardern said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern held a press briefing with ministers Peeni Henare and Aupito William Sio on Sunday about efforts to assist Tonga.

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Initial reports revealed the most damage on Tongatapu – the main island of Tonga, at the northern side of Nuku’alofa – with boats and large boulders washed ashore.

No information was yet known about the outer islands and coastal areas, Ardern said.

Defence Force Minister Peeni Henare said logistics teams, engineers and medics will likely be deployed.

There were growing concerns from the Tongan community in New Zealand about 8000 people living in the Ha’apai group of islands in Tonga – the closest to the eruption.

Communication remains very limited, Ardern said. The main undersea communications cable was impacted, likely due to a loss of power.

She said New Zealand would provide assistance to repair the cable if needed.

There were reports that ash had stopped falling on Tongatapu, but Ardern said they couldn’t rule out further volcanic activity.

Ardern said a NZDF P3 Orion aircraft was ready to do a surveillance flight of Tonga on Monday morning, subject to conditions including ashfall.

Along with the aircraft flight, New Zealand was considering the deployment of a naval ship, Ardern said.

The government was waiting to establish which vessel would be most appropriate, with the Manawanui equipped with underwater surveillance equipment and the Canterbury with desalination equipment onboard.

“For now, Government is waiting to hear from Tongan authorities about what was needed.”

Logistics teams, engineers and medics would likely be included in any deployment, Defence Force Minister Peeni Henare said, and meteorologists and geologists may also be sent.

Ardern said it was clear that clean drinking water was needed in Tonga, as the ash cloud had caused contamination of water catchments.

New Zealand has made an initial $500,000 available to respond to requests from the Tonga Government, with Ardern saying this was very much a starting point.