’Eua residents complained this morning after heavy rain damaged goods sent by their families in New Zealand following the January volcano eruption and tsunami.
Many accused authorities of storing their goods in the open and not setting up a temporary shelter after the tsunami wiped out Nāfanua wharf.
The government appeared to have been dragged into the people’s disappointment after what is thought to be its decision to quarantine the cargo before releasing it to the owners.
The details of the damage were unclear, but some Tongans in New Zealand sent boxes of dairy milk and bags of groceries. They appear to have become wet after the incident, making them inedible if not used immediately.
It appeared some drums and parcels were opened at the border in Nuku’alofa for screening and were not re-sealed tightly so the rain got in and damaged their contents this morning.
Some complainants asked why the government did not unload the cargo and store it in the nearby packing house.
Photos and video clips taken at the scene this morning provided to Kaniva News showed what appeared to be people standing in the rain near an open platform by the sea.
An eyewitness who goes by the Facebook name Niah Takai said the people were negotiating what happened to their cargo after they became aware of the situation when the rain was falling.
“Lahi e uta oku maumau,” Takai told Kaniva News in Tongan. Her remark is translated into English as “A huge number of cargos are damaged,”
The government has been contacted for comment.
We have asked the Minister of Disaster and his CEO to comment on the residents’ complaints.
We also asked why there was not any makeshift shelter installed at the bare wharf to protect the cargo.
The complaints came after we recently reported that shipments from New Zealand following the disaster had been allegedly stolen at the Kuini Sālote Wharf in Tongatapu.
The government said at the time it had received no complaints about the allegations, but said it welcomed any complaints from the public.
Volcanic eruption and tsunami
The disaster killed four people and caused US$90.4m (TOP 208M) in damages to Tonga, according to the World Bank, equivalent to 18.5 percent of Tonga’s GDP.
Immediately after the eruption and the fatal tsunami, a relief committee known as Aotearoa Tongan Relief Committee (ATRC) was set up in Auckland to help ship people’s donation to the kingdom.
Reports by the ATRC said it filled more than 70 shipping containers full of drums of food and non-perishable items. More than 50 of them had already been shipped to Tonga.
