国际援助物资抵达汤加

The first international shipment of humanitarian aid has arrived in the Pacific nation of Tonga.

第一批国际人道主义援助物资已经抵达太平洋国家汤加。

A military plane from New Zealand arrived five days after an underwater volcanic eruption killed three people and left behind extensive tsunami damage and a blanket of fallen ash.

5天前，新西兰的一架军用飞机在水下火山喷发后抵达汤加，这次火山喷发造成3人死亡，海啸造成大面积破坏，并留下一层厚厚的火山灰。

Here to tell us more about the international relief effort is reporter Ashley Westerman, who joins us from Manila.

今天我们请到了记者阿什利·韦斯特曼，他将从马尼拉和我们连线，为我们详细介绍国际救援工作。

Ashley, why did it take so long for the aid to arrive?

阿什利，为什么援助物资这么久才到?

Well, the eruption actually damaged an underwater fiber optic cable, and it knocked out the internet and phone lines across Tonga, and that made communicating with officials nearly impossible.

实际上，火山喷发损坏了一条水下光缆，切断了汤加各地的互联网和电话线，这使得与官员的沟通几乎是不可能的。

The blackout also made it difficult to assess the damage and really know what Tonga needed.

停电也使得评估损失和真正了解汤加需要什么变得困难。

But, A, a New Zealand air force plane was only able to land on Tonga's largest island, Tongatapu, after the Tongan military cleared the runway there of volcanic ash by hand.

但是，一架新西兰空军飞机只能在汤加最大的岛屿--汤加塔布岛降落，因为汤加军方用手清理了跑道上的火山灰。

Rear Admiral Jim Gilmour, the commander of Joint Forces New Zealand, told the press back in Wellington that the plane was carrying relief supplies, such as food, water generators and personal hygiene kits.

新西兰联合部队司令、海军少将吉姆·吉尔摩在惠灵顿对媒体说，这架飞机携带了食品、发电机和个人卫生用品等救援物资。

And that is now being unloaded as we speak. No contact. COVID protocols are being adhered to rigorously.

就在我们说话的时候，正在卸载这些东西。 无接触卸载。严格遵守新冠肺炎协议。

And that aircraft will return to New Zealand tonight.

那架飞机今晚就会飞回新西兰。

Also, New Zealand isn't staying to help out?

还有，新西兰不打算留下来帮忙吗?

No, they're not, because, basically, the Tongan government has kept their COVID restrictions in place.

不，他们不会，因为汤加政府继续实施对新冠病毒的限制措施。

And that means no outside visitors.

这就意味着不能有外来访客。

Tonga has only recorded one COVID-19 case, and officials there want to keep it that way.

汤加只记录了一例新冠肺炎病例，那里的官员希望维持这种状态。

Here's Jonathan Pryke with the Lowy Institute in Sydney.

请听乔纳森·普赖克为您从悉尼洛伊研究所发回的报道。

He told me about how Tonga has managed to use its remoteness in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to its advantage during the pandemic.

他向我讲述了汤加在疫情期间如何利用其地处太平洋中部的偏远优势。

Tonga was able to quickly put the barriers up between itself and the outside world to implement quarantine systems, to stop international travel and to closely monitor freight coming in and out of the country.

汤加能够迅速在本国和外部世界之间设置障碍，以实施隔离制度，阻止国际旅行，并密切监测进出该国的货物。

So, you know, they acted swiftly, and I think that's - a lot of that's been driven by the history of Tonga's experience with the outside world and particularly Westerners and bringing disease to the country.

所以，你知道，他们迅速采取了行动，这是由汤加与外部世界，特别是西方人的经历以及给这个国家带来疾病的历史推动的。

And even though Tonga has a pretty high vaccination rate, letting international aid workers in could put their population at risk, and officials are just not willing to do that.

尽管汤加的疫苗接种率相当高，但让国际援助人员进入可能会把他们的人口置于危险之中，而官员们是不愿意这样做的。

But this means that aid groups are going to have to work with Tonga remotely, and that's not easy.

但这意味着援助组织将不得不与汤加进行远程合作，这并不容易。

But the groups I've spoken with say they'll do whatever it takes to help out.

不过我采访过的组织表示他们会尽一切努力帮助他们。

All right, so let's talk about what Tonga needs right now.

好了，我们来谈谈汤加现在需要什么。

What are their priorities as they begin to clean up?

当他们开始清理时，他们的首要任务是什么?

So the experts I've spoken with say the main concern right now is the volcanic ash that is blanketing everything.

和我交谈过的专家们说，现在最担心的是覆盖一切的火山灰。

If left for too long, it could contaminate the drinking water, and officials in Tonga say that's already started to happen.

如果放置太久，可能会污染饮用水，汤加官员表示，这种情况已经开始发生。

It can also harm crops and even livestock.

火山灰还会危害农作物，甚至牲畜。

Volcanologist Shane Cronin at The University of Auckland says the ash itself isn't so dangerous, but what happens later can be.

奥克兰大学的火山学家谢恩·克罗宁表示，火山灰本身并没有那么危险，但之后发生的事情可能会很危险。

The ash is coated with mineral salts, and they're mainly sulfur and chlorine and sometimes fluorine.

火山灰上覆盖着矿物盐，主要是硫和氯，有时还有氟。

And what happens when water gets on to the ash?

当水接触到火山灰时会发生什么？

It dissolves up these salts, but then creates acid.

水溶解这些盐，然后产生酸。

And these acids, he says, make the water taste bad and can harm plants.

他表示，这些酸会让水尝起来味道不佳，还会损害植物。

Meanwhile, food security is also an issue.

与此同时，粮食安全也是一个问题。

There's been reports of widespread damage to crops, and scientists say the eruption likely killed pretty much any marine life nearby.

有报道称，火山爆发对农作物造成了大范围的破坏，科学家表示，火山爆发可能导致附近几乎所有海洋生物死亡。

And then finally, fixing that broken underwater fiber optic cable, but that could take weeks.

最后，修复断裂的水下光缆，但这可能需要几周时间。