A C-130 transport plane dispatched by Japan's Air Self-Defense Force carrying drinking water arrived in Tonga on Saturday after an undersea volcanic eruption and a tsunami hit the Pacific islands nation last weekend.

The plane left the Komaki air base in central Japan on Thursday with potable water prepared by the Japan International Cooperation Agency, a government-linked aid agency. It landed at an Australian air base on Friday before taking off for Tonga on Saturday morning.

Airport officials check a cargo of drinking water that was unloaded from a Japan Air Self-Defense Force C-130 transport plane at an airport in Tonga on Jan. 22, 2022. (Photo courtesy of the Japan Joint Staff)(Kyodo)

The ASDF is dispatching another C-130 loaded with drinking water and two C-2 transport aircraft to the tsunami-stricken country as part of Japan's relief effort.

The Maritime Self-Defense Force transport vessel Osumi is also expected to depart for Tonga to deliver high-pressure cleaners and handcarts to be used in the removal of volcanic ash.

Australia and New Zealand have also dispatched aircraft and transport ships loaded with aid for people affected by the disaster.

The eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai volcano on Jan. 15 sent tsunami waves across the Pacific, killing at least three people in Tonga and causing extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure there.

Water supplies in Tonga have been disrupted by volcanic ash and salt water, and securing access to safe drinking water is "a critical immediate priority," according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Meanwhile, the Tongan government said Friday that a total of 14 people were injured in the eruption and tsunami, releasing a relevant figure for the first time since the disaster struck.

It added that 84 percent of the about 107,000 people who live in the island nation are estimated to have been affected by falling ash and tsunami.

The government also said all three fatalities so far resulted from the tsunami.

While water remains the major request item, the government said water supplies have been tested, and that groundwater and clean rainwater is safe to drink.

Internet connection has also been disrupted in Tonga after the tsunami severed an undersea fiber-optic cable. The government said a New Zealand plane carrying equipment for re-establishing limited internet connection has arrived, and that a vessel was expected to arrive in the "next few days" to repair the cable.


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