The Cook Islands government has set up a disaster emergency trust fund.
The trust has been set up following the cyclone which devastated Aitutaki in February last year.
Prime Minister Henry Puna says, at the time of the cyclone, government ministries couldn't front up with money - partly because of the rules governing the expenditure of public funds.
He says the trust fund gets around that problem.
Finance Minister Mark Brown says the fund is for the government's initial response to emergency situations.
It is to allow government to make sure essential services such as power are re-started as soon as possible, and key areas such as airports and ports are cleared to assist in any recovery.
