People clean debris following volcanic eruption and tsunami, in Nuku'alofa, Tonga January 18, 2022 in this picture obtained from social media on January 19, 2022. Courtesy of Marian Kupu/Broadcom Broadcasting FM87.5/via REUTERS
(Reuters) - The first aid flights reached Tonga on Thursday with more en route, five days after a devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami, as communities awaited a ship with equipment to scale up supplies of much-needed drinking water.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force C-130 Hercules carrying disaster relief supplies landed at the South Pacific island nation's Fua'amotu International Airport, a defence spokesperson said, after volcanic ash was cleared off the runway.
