Tonga – Delivery of France’s emergency assistance (24 January 2022)

In response to requests by the authorities of the Kingdom of Tonga, France is taking action to address the most urgent needs of the people. Two Navy patrol ships provided by the Armed Forces in New Caledonia (FANC) and by the Armed Forces in French Polynesia (FAPF) are sailing to the Tonga archipelago. This emergency operation, supported by the governments of French Polynesia and New Caledonia, is being organized under the FRANZ mechanism for regional coordination of humanitarian assistance in the event of a natural disaster in the island States of the Pacific. It is implemented by the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

These patrol ships are carrying around 40 tonnes of humanitarian assistance. The freight, which comes from the stockpiles of the Crisis and Support Centre (CDCS) in Nouméa and Papeete, includes equipment to build emergency shelters (500 tents, cords, tools), hygiene kits and solar lamps. The ships are also carrying 10,000 litres of drinking water and 1,000 rations from the Ministry for the Armed Forces.

In the coming days, the FANC will also deliver water and food supplies from New Caledonia using tactical aircraft.

In accordance with the COVID 19 restrictions in force in the Kingdom of Tonga, all this emergency assistance will be unloaded without contact with local people.

Lastly, the FANC will carry out a reconnaissance flight over the affected areas to assess the nature and scale of the damage.