Pacific tsunami update

also see | Advice on public giving | Disasters: How to help | Pacific tsunami appeals

New Zealand will provide ongoing support to assist the people of Samoa and Tonga recover from the Pacific tsunami that struck on the morning of 29 September (Samoan time).

The Pacific tsunami caused significant destruction in areas of Samoa and Tonga, and resulted in the tragic loss of life and injury to Samoans, Tongans, New Zealanders, and Australians.

New Zealand's immediate response

In the immediate aftermath of the tsunami both Australia and New Zealand provided substantial emergency assistance in the form of direct assistance from a range of government agencies and official development assistance funds. New Zealand initially made $2 million available to support the emergency relief effort in Samoa and Tonga. Funds were used to:

purchase priority supplies and services (for example: relief items and medical supplies)
provide a grant to the NZ Red Cross ($150,000) for emergency supplies
provide further grants to New Zealand non-government organisations for relief and recovery activities ($600,000).

Support for recovery and reconstruction efforts

Foreign Ministers Murray McCully and Stephen Smith have subsequently announced the New Zealand and Australian governments will each contribute A$5 million to the Government of Samoa to support its tsunami recovery and reconstruction efforts.

The A$10 million trans-Tasman package of budget support provides Samoa with the ability to rebuild its infrastructure, restore essential services, and begin the process of economic recovery. The immediate priority will be rebuilding communities, including housing, water, power, and roads.

New Zealand will also contribute a further NZ$4 million in targeted assistance to the rebuilding of Samoa 's tourism industry following September's tsunami.

The New Zealand government has committed NZ$1.5 million towards tsunami recovery and reconstruction efforts in Tonga , where the tsunami killed nine people and severely damaged houses and essential infrastructure on the isolated northern island of Niuatoputapu .

Reconstruction work on Niuatoputapu will be difficult due to its isolation, adding to the cost and complexity of rebuilding. New Zealand 's financial contribution to these efforts will help Tonga recover from this disaster as quickly as possible.

Summary of the New Zealand government response

A whole of Government approach saw NZAID, the New Zealand Defence Force, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, NZ Police, the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM), the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs, NZ Customs, MAF and the Ministry of Social Development working together with the Red Cross and NGOs to respond to the Pacific tsunami.
There was a strong level of cooperation with France and Australia under the FRANZ Arrangement in the coordination of relief supplies and defence force assets.
Over 150 personnel from the NZ Navy, Army and Air Force were involved in a range of key tasks.
A total of 43 NZ medical personnel were deployed through District Health Boards and the Ministry of Health.
New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) Environmental Health Officers worked with Samoan and Tongan Ministry of Health and other environmental health agencies to establish the needs of displaced people as a result of the tsunami.
New Zealand mental health staff also played a role in establishing ‘train the trainer' courses for school teachers in Samoa to ensure they are equipped to support young people through their grief.
More than 12,000kg of medical equipment and supplies and 22,000kgs of general aid including tents, caskets, chainsaws, tools, shelter boxes, tarps, food, water was airlifted to Samoa after the tsunami.
HMNZS Canterbury delivered aid including 80 tonnes of general aid, 6 tonnes medical equipment and medical supplies, 7 tonnes of plumbing supplies, 128 tonnes of power-poles and fale poles and 4 tonnes of electrical supplies.
The Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) Dive Team repaired and replaced fresh water pipelines between Manono and Namua Islands off the coast of Upolu.
NZ Police provided disaster victim identification specialists - to help to identify bodies and return them to their families, radio technicians to establish a police radio network on the south coast, 12 specialist search staff and four victim recovery dogs and their handlers to search for bodies.
Two officials from the Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management assisted disaster management offices in Samoa and Tonga.
Two NZ structural engineers provided advice on the integrity and safety of infrastructure and mainly public buildings.

Public generosity

The Government's assistance has been matched by an outpouring of generosity from the public including fundraising, and the collection of goods required by those affected by the tsunami. NZAID received over 300 individual offers of assistance in total. All offers have been checked against requests from the Governments of Samoa and Tonga. Those offers that matched official requests to New Zealand for assistance were taken forward.

NZAID has also passed details of relevant offers for the reconstruction phase on to the Samoan and Tongan Government for consideration as they coordinate efforts to rebuild the communities affected.

For advice on public giving to ensure New Zealand based donations are channelled in a way that best helps those affected by the tsunami click here.

Giving a cash donation – no matter what size – is really the best sort of assistance New Zealanders can provide. Many New Zealand based organisations have responded to the disaster. They will need money for their work. New Zealand based appeals have been established in response to the tsunami, information on each of these is listed here.

The information on this page is designed to help people understand how they can best help with the emergency response to disasters more generally.

also see | Advice on public giving | Disasters: How to help | Pacific tsunami appeals