A combined New Zealand/United States effort to get emergency water supplies to the three drought affected atolls of Tokelau has just been completed.
The water was delivered by a US Coastguard cutter, the Walnut, which had a de-salination unit on board.
The New Zealand high commissioner to Samoa, Nick Hurley, was also on the cutter, and he says after departing American Samoa they called first at Fakaofo last Friday, then Atafu followed by Nukunonu, and finally today to Fakaofo again.
"We have managed to deliver what we thought we would be able to achieve, which was great. Roughly 46,000 odd litres to Fakaofo, 45,000 to Atafu and just over 37,000 to Nukunonu. So that will get them by for the next two or three weeks until the desalination plants start to arrive."
