A C-130 Hercules from No 40 Squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force delivered aid and humanitarian assistance to Fiji mid-March 2010, following devastation to the northern islands from Cyclone Tomas.
Unloading aid supplies
Squadron Leader Kavae Tamariki, who was in Fiji with the contingent of NZ Defence Force personnel said, “During a reconnaissance flight over Taveuni and the northern tip of Vanua Levu we saw more damage than we’d seen previously. Although this was not total destruction, quite a few villages looked like they had been hit pretty hard.”
Phillip Taula, New Zealand’s Acting High Commissioner in Fiji said that, “Having the New Zealand and Australian C-130s in Fiji, so quickly after Cyclone Tomas, allowed us to provide the Fijian authorities with aerial reconnaissance information and deliver emergency supplies to those that most needed them.”
“There was a high level of cooperation between the different agencies working on the ground to support the humanitarian effort and Australia and New Zealand will continue to work together to support the response to Cyclone Tomas.”
The NZ Defence Force continues to work with its FRANZ partners—France and Australia—and the Fiji authorities to assist in the aftermath of this destructive cyclone.