Pacific Islands - Polynesia and Melanesia.

ngatimozart

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Wellington arrived last night and along Matataua personnel have started assessing the approaches and port and divers have been inspecting the wharves. Aotearoa was due in this morning. Canterbury sails tomorrow with two NH90 aboard with Army engineers and plant operators to help purify water, assist with clean-up of debris, and help out with construction tasks to make buildings safe to use, if this help is needed. She should be there Tuesday.

Tonga Response - New Zealand Defence Force (nzdf.mil.nz)
 

recce.k1

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Auxiliary vessel HMNZS Aotearoa berthed at Vuna Wharf (Tonga’s main Cruise Terminal).

Source: Malau Media

In other news international naval and air support efforts are under way from the UK, US, Japan.
The Royal Australian Navy is supporting the effort too, while HMAS Adelaide is on its way.

"My understanding is, in addition to the three ships we will have, [the] Adelaide from Australia, the [Royal Navy ship HMS] Spey from the UK and the US already has the Sampson [there] and a coast guard vessel is on its way down. I understand a Japanese vessel is on route. I have no information with respects to China," Commander Commodore Garin Golding said.
(Surprised the French aren't (or yet) to be involved)!

Two Japanese Air Self-Defense Force C-130's are assisting and will be based in Australia.
 
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recce.k1

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Japan to send the Ōsumi amphibious transport dock to Tonga to assist with the relief efforts.
The Osumi departed from the Kure base in western Japan with 60,000 liters of drinking water prepared by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, a government-linked aid agency, as well as 60 high pressure washers to remove volcanic ash, according to the Defense Ministry.

Around 300 people are also aboard as part of the aid effort. The vessel is also carrying two hovercraft and two CH-47 Ground Self-Defense Force transport helicopters.

The helicopters will be used to rapidly disburse relief material, the Self-Defense Fleet's commander-in-chief responsible for the relief effort said.

Hideki Yuasa said in a statement the fleet will do its "utmost" to help the nation in its recovery efforts.

As part of its aid effort, Japan has already dispatched two C-130 and two C2 transport planes carrying drinking water and other supplies with the first batch having arrived in Tonga on Saturday.


 
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Ananda

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From SCMP video. I put here as shown video on the impact in the interior of Tonga main island. Looking on the impact, whatever the burden Tonga people got at this moment, it's still also some need to be grateful that the casualties not as high if this impact on more densely populated region.

Similar Vulcanic tsunami in Krakatoa few years ago, smaller then this one. However since it's impact densely populated region in Java, cause hundreds fatality.

The problem now is because of COVID and Tonga damage infrastructure. Providing aid contactless is a must during this pandemic situation. Just it's going to complicate the speed of delivery.

Seems what Tonga need some kind of desalination equipment to provide fresh water from the sea. I don't know if interior Tonga can be drill enough Wells for fresh water. Perhaps mobile desalination equipment is more needed.
 

OldNavy63

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RAAF 37 SQN Hercules fitted with AN/AAQ-28 Litening pod and Ka-band SATCOM provided real time video imagery to HQ Joint Operations Command of the disaster in Tonga during recce flight from RAAF Richmond NSW on 18 Jan 22. The Herc, fitted with external fuel tanks, recovered at Auckland and conducted a second recce flight on 20 Jan.


A world class capability.
 

recce.k1

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France is sending New Caledonia based P400 patrol boat La Glorieuse to Tonga, plus a Falcon Guardian maritime surveillance aircraft and a "cargo plane" (presumably their CN235? Unless they intend to bring out an A400M from France, which has been done before) to provide further aid and assistance to Tonga.
 

DDG38

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Well it looks like Tonga will have to wait a bit longer for Australian aid
Bugger
It was always a risk, but I doubt they'll turn around now, they can still unload all those supplies via contactless methods.
 

ngatimozart

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It was always a risk, but I doubt they'll turn around now, they can still unload all those supplies via contactless methods.
Must've been stokers - can't take them anywhere :D

Yep, it's contactless delivery at the moment anyway. Aotearoa had been pumping water into road tankers as soon as it came alongside. They also had their desalination plant working flat out. Canterbury has an Army mobile desalination plant onboard. It got a good workout here in Christchurch after the Feb 2011 quakes. The Tongans raised a huge amount of money for us in Christchurch to help us out then.

There's a civilian ship leaving Auckland tomorrow with containers loaded with 44 gallon drums stacked with water, food emergency supplies for individual families in Tonga. Each drum has a family's name on it and it is being sent by family here. Not sure how many containers that they have going but they locked the gates to Mt Smart Stadium yesterday because they were overwhelmed by the response from Tongans in NZ. They get 110 x 44 drums into a standard 20ft ISO container.

Tonga collection drive organisers call for more drums to hold donations | RNZ News
 

OldNavy63

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It was always a risk, but I doubt they'll turn around now, they can still unload all those supplies via contactless methods.
Certainly and provided adequate distancing can be maintained, I would expect Adelaide would contribute to helo transfer to outlying areas and LCC inter island transfers, desalination, engineering support etc.
 

ngatimozart

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Certainly and provided adequate distancing can be maintained, I would expect Adelaide would contribute to helo transfer to outlying areas and LCC inter island transfers, desalination, engineering support etc.
I certainly hope so, but the Tongan government apparently turned back a relief flight the other day because or or two of the crew tested positive for COVID-19.
 

swerve

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Which is reasonable, since they've only had one case & 40% of the population is completely unvaccinated. They remember the 1918 flu pandemic, when about 8% of Tongans died.
 

recce.k1

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Indeed, I also read somewhere that (some) international personnel tested positive for covid when stabalising the Solomon Islands after their riots last November (I think it may have been Fijian and possibly another nations troops). Hence Tonga's preference not to have too many "international" forces' boots on the ground where possible.

Fiji is deploying RFMF troops and engineers to assist, via the ADF (presumably HMAS Adelaide).

French air surveillance is active and maritime forces are en-route.


 

ngatimozart

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RNZN video of Aotearoa refuelling Tongan Guardian Patrol Boat.

 

recce.k1

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RNZN video of Aotearoa refuelling Tongan Guardian Patrol Boat.

And to further demonstrate the usefulness of having a replenishment oiler "on station" for a HADR operation, HMNZS Aotearoa then completed a replenishment at sea with USS Sampson (DDG-102).

The USS Sampson's MH-60R Seahawk has been busy conducting "intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance damage assessment of remote islands Niuafo’ou, Fonualei, Ofu and Fonuafo’ou".



The replenishment oiler Aotearoa was meant to be traveling to the Antarctic soon, so far no announcement on when she is leaving, however could this provide an opportunity for one of the new RAN replenishment oilers to take over these sorts of taskings?

I suspect Aotearoa's ability to make "70,000L of fresh water every day for local consumption" could be another reason to keep her there longer?
 
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recce.k1

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New news articles from tonight - HMAS Adelaide has docked in Tonga this evening (the article mentions "cargo was being offloaded by machines" presumably that's the ship's cranes?) and IIRC the 23 on board with covid are in isolation, hopefully meaning Adelaide's crew and other embarked personnel can carry on with their other critical tasks.


Covid is also creating havoc with Japan's Air Self-Defense Force HADR mission, C-130 operations are suspended as they "can no longer secure sufficient personnel for the mission as 36 other ASDF members on deployment are suspected of having come into close contact with the four infected individuals now self-isolating".

 
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