3 Oct 2011

New Zealand supports Red Cross response to Tuvalu water crisis

4:30 pm on 3 October 2011

A New Zealand Defence Force aircraft has arrived in Tuvalu this afternoon to deliver New Zealand Red Cross supplies and personnel to address severe water shortages.

Tuvalu has declared a state of emergency as a result of water shortages in the capital, Funafuti and a number of outer islands.

The New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully says a Hercules left this morning to take supplies and personnel to Tuvalu.

The supplies include two desalination units as well as water containers.

Two foreign affairs staff, who are on the mission, including the Wellington-based High Commissioner to Tuvalu, will remain in the country to help assess needs on the ground.