Around 270 New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) personnel have been sent to aid the rebuild of Fiji's remote northern Lau islands, which were devastated by Tropical Cyclone Winston.
Commander Simon Rooke said the multi-role vessel, HMNZS Canterbury, filled with engineers and naval personnel has been anchored off Lomaloma, the main village on the island of Vanua Balavu, 290km east of the Fijian capital of Suva.
It is serving as the maritime hub for New Zealand's post-disaster recovery operations in Fiji's northern outer islands.
"Vanua Balavu was one of the areas directly in the path of the storm so the devastation is quite extensive," says Cdr Rooke. "We have brought 106 tonnes of aid supplies as well as personnel to help rebuild community buildings. We are here to assist the community to restore some normality to their lives after such a severe event.
"As we have demonstrated in Vanuatu last year, Canterbury is the perfect platform for humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations. It can support up to 366 people for 30 days without replenishing."
Cdr Rooke says aid supplies have been distributed to local communities.
Civilian medical volunteers from New Zealand and staff from Fiji's disaster management office are also spread around the affected islands.
Martin Buet, head of the New Zealand Medical Assistance Team, said a doctor and three nurses are conducting outreach clinics in the different villages on Vanua Balavu over the next two weeks.
"We are here in support of the local government. We may deploy another team to northern Lau if the local authorities see that there's a need."
The HMNZS Canterbury is also converting seawater into drinking water.
Newshub.
