WELLINGTON/SYDNEY: As aid trickles into the South Pacific nation of Tonga, devastated by a volcanic eruption and tsunami, an Australian aid flight was forced to return to base due to a positive COVID-19 case onboard, a defence official said on Friday.
Tonga is COVID-free and has a strict border control policy, and is requiring contactless delivery of aid that began arriving by plane on Thursday.
The Australian aid flight left Brisbane on Thursday afternoon but was turned around midflight after being notified of the positive COVID-19 case, an Australian defence spokeswoman said.
All crew had returned negative rapid antigen tests before departure, but PCR tests later showed the positive result. The supplies were moved to another flight that took off on Friday.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano eruption last Saturday triggered tsunami that destroyed villages, resorts and many buildings and knocked out communications for the nation of about 105,000 people, and sent shockwaves and tsunami across the Pacific.
Three people have been reported killed, authorities said.
Almost a week since the eruption and Tongans are struggling to find clean drinking water with their island homes shrouded in volcanic ash.
"We are cleaning the ash and have been since Monday," said Branko Sugar, 61, who runs a bottle shop and fishing charter business from the capital Nuku'alofa.
"Everything is so dusty, and we are running out of water," he said over a patchy telephone line.
"We only have the tap water, and it's been contaminated. We're just cleaning, cleaning, cleaning and can hardly breathe for all the dust."
The first aid flights from Australia and New Zealand landed in Tonga on Thursday with much-needed supplies of water for sanitation and hygiene as well as shelter, communication equipment and power generators.
A New Zealand maritime sustainment vessel HMNZS Aotearoa carrying 250,000 litres of water and able to produce 70,000 litres per day through a desalination plant, is expected to arrive on Friday.
Australia's HMAS Adelaide en route from Brisbane is due in Tonga next week.
URGENT ASSISTANCE REQUEST
United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a briefing that Tonga has asked for urgent assistance and the agency is in close contact with the authorities.
"Assessment teams have reached most parts of the country, including remote and isolated islands," Dujarric said.
"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 said.
Some 60,000 people have been affected by damage to crops, livestock, and fisheries due to ashfall, saltwater intrusion and the potential for acid rain, Dujarric said.
There are also reports of fuel shortages, he added.
Australia's Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Friday cash donations to Tonga for immediate humanitarian supplies - Australia has donated $1 million - would need to be followed with more substantial 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 told Australian radio.
Telephone links between Tonga and the outside world were reconnected late on Wednesday, although restoring full internet services is likely to take a month or more.
Tongans have turned to social media to post images of the destruction by the tsunami and give accounts of their shock after the massive explosion.
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has said the force of the eruption was estimated to be the equivalent of five to 10 megatons of TNT, or more than 500 times that of the nuclear bomb the United States dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima at the end of World War Two.
Reuters
Fri Jan 21 2022
Members of the Australian Defence Force embark on HMAS Adelaide at the Port of Brisbane before departure to Tonga, in Brisbane, Australia, January 20, 2022. - REUTERS
KEDA berhasrat tanam padi wangi, padi huma tahun ini
Lembaga Kemajuan Wilayah Kedah (KEDA) berhasrat membangunkan tanaman padi wangi dan padi huma di beberapa kawasan pertanian dalam wilayahnya, tahun ini.
Mesyuarat perundingan Enam Pihak Arab bincangkan perkembangan di Gaza
Mesyuarat perundingan Jawatankuasa Enam Pihak Arab itu membincangkan perkembangan serangan Israel ke atas Semenanjung Gaza.
Chegubard didakwa di Mahkamah Sesyen KL esok - Peguam
Badrul Hisham Shaharin atau dikenali Chegubard akan didakwa di Mahkamah Sesyen Kuala Lumpur esok atas pertuduhan memfitnah dan menghasut.
Pulau Pinang, kerajaan pusat bekerjasama tarik pelaburan semikonduktor
Kerajaan Pulau Pinang akan bekerjasama dengan Kerajaan Persekutuan untuk meneruskan usaha menarik pelaburan dalam sektor semikonduktor, termasuk segmen reka bentuk litar bersepadu (IC) di negeri itu.
Rakyat Malaysia di Jordan jadi duta produk PMKS negara
Menteri Pembangunan Usahawan dan Koperasi Datuk Ewon Benedick menyarankan rakyat Malaysia yang menetap di Jordan supaya memainkan peranan sebagai “duta” untuk mempromosikan produk perusahaan mikro kecil dan sederhana (PMKS) SERTA koperasi negara.
Mohamed Khaled tiba di Indonesia, dijadual bertemu Prabowo
Menteri Pertahanan Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin tiba di Jakarta hari ini untuk lawatan kerja rasmi sulung beliau ke Indonesia sejak memegang jawatan itu.
SPRM mohon maklumat dari Jerman
Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) memohon maklumat terkini daripada pihak berkuasa Jerman mengenai dana bon 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) yang dipercayai digunakan untuk membeli kereta mewah di negara itu pada 26 Okt 2022.
SPRM siasat pemimpin kanan di utara tanah air
Seorang pemimpin kanan di utara tanah air disiasat Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) kerana disyaki melantik beberapa syarikat yang mempunyai kepentingan dengannya membabitkan beberapa projek pembekalan melibatkan peruntukan kira-kira RM300,000.
Kembangkan kandungan tempatan melalui AI
Menurut Setiausaha Agung Organisasi Kerjasama Digital (DCO) Deemah Al Yahya, terdapat 2.7 peratus daripada penduduk dunia tidak berhubung malah tidak mempunyai sambungan asas internet. Beliau turut berkata infrastruktur pengkomputeran setiap negara perlu mempunyai kemampuan untuk mengembangkan kandungan tempatan khususnya yang melibatkan penggunaan AI.
AI tidak dapat ganti guru
Menteri Pendidikan Rwanda, Gaspard Twagirayezu berkata kepesatan teknologi AI dalam pendidikan tidak dapat menggantikan guru malah membantu guru dalam menyediakan bahan pengajaran yang bermanfaat kepada pelajar.
Gempa bumi 6.7 pada skala Richter landa Neiafu, Tonga
Gempa bumi berukuran 6.7 pada skala Richter menggegarkan 112 kilomter (km) barat laut Neiafu, Tonga pada 10:27:45 GMT waktu tempatan, menurut Kajian Geologi Amerika Syarikat.
Gempa 7.4 magnitud landa Tonga
Sistem Amaran Tsunami Amerika Syarikat bagaimanapun tidak mengeluarkan amaran tsunami susulan gempa.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Letusan di Tonga beratus kali lebih kuat daripada bom atom Hiroshima - NASA
NASA berkata, letusan itu sangat kuat sehinggakan daratan baharu yang terbentuk itu telah hilang, bersama-sama dengan "ketulan besar" dua pulau lama.
'Aquaman' hampir lemas dilambung ombak, hanyut 27 jam susulan tsunami di Tonga
Lisala Folau berkata, dia hampir lemas sebanyak sembilan kali sebelum berjaya berpaut pada batang kayu dan berenang ke pantai.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Gunung berapi: Dua lemas di Peru akibat ombak besar
Lebih 20 pelabuhan di Peru ditutup buat sementara waktu sebagai langkah berjaga-jaga susulan amaran ombak tinggi.
Tonga alami 'kerosakan besar' akibat letusan gunung berapi - Jacinda Ardern
Namun, kesan keseluruhan kepada Tonga masih belum jelas akibat capaian telefon dan internet di seluruh negara masih terputus.
Tsunami landa Pantai Pasifik Jepun selepas letusan gunung berapi di Tonga
Pantai Pasifik Jepun dilanda tsunami pada Sabtu akibat letusan gunung berapi dasar laut di negara Tonga.