Emergency teams have continued delivering drinking water to communities across the Lulunga island group in Ha’apai as authorities work to restore supplies following damage to water infrastructure, with the Ha’afeva Health Centre remaining the highest priority.

The National Disaster Risk Management Office (NDRMO), supported by His Majesty’s Armed Forces (HMAF), said response teams arrived in Ha’afeva yesterday aboard the patrol vessel VOEA Late and immediately began setting up a desalination unit to provide safe drinking water for the health centre.

Image: NDRMO

According to NDRMO, the facility lost its rainwater storage tanks during a tornado that struck Ha’afeva earlier this year, leaving the health centre reliant on emergency water supplies.

Authorities said desalination operations will continue until enough potable water has been produced to support essential health services.

At Tungua, response teams transferred about 4,000 litres of water from VOEA Late into a 5,000-litre community tank established as a central distribution point.

Twenty-one households each received 40 litres of drinking water, while rapid household assessments were carried out to help guide ongoing relief efforts.

On the second day of operations, NDRMO said water assessments were completed in ‘Ou’a, Matuku and Ha’afeva.

Water deliveries continued despite low tidal conditions, which required operational adjustments, while efforts to replenish the Ha’afeva Health Centre’s water reserves remained under way.

Residents receiving emergency water have been advised to boil it before drinking as a public health precaution.

Water security has long been a challenge for the remote Lulunga district, where communities depend heavily on rainwater harvesting and are vulnerable to prolonged dry periods and severe weather.

Previous resilience programmes have identified reliable freshwater access as a long-term priority for the island group.