New Zealand water ship unloads in Tonga as other aid trickles in

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. Australian Department Of Defence/Handout via REUTERS

WELLINGTON/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Life-saving water supplies from a New Zealand navy ship were distributed across Tonga's main island on Friday, as other countries battled the logistics of delivering aid to one of the world's remotest communities.

Six days after the South Pacific archipelago was devastated by a volcanic eruption and tsunami that deposited a blanket of ash and polluted its water sources, the HMNZS Aotearoa docked in the capital, Nuku’alofa.