Eleven days after the volcanic eruption off the South Pacific island nation of Tonga, the relief efforts are picking up speed.
After the runway at Fua'amotu Airport was cleared of ash, planes could land there again safely, the Red Cross said on Wednesday.
Above all, drinking water treatment plants and material for the reconstruction of buildings are needed.
The Australian government is making more money available.
The US sent the naval ship USS Sampson with relief supplies.
The eruption of the submarine volcano Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai in mid-January triggered a tsunami wave that wreaked havoc on islands in the Tonga archipelago.
At least three people died.
According to media reports, NASA said the eruption was several hundred times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
"This disaster has shaken the people of Tonga like nothing before," said Sione Taumoefolau, Secretary General of the Red Cross.
"The tsunami destroyed houses and villages, we are rebuilding them amidst the ash."
Because the previously corona-free Tonga is afraid of the virus being introduced, relief supplies have to be delivered without contact with the residents.
On a ship from Australia that arrived on Wednesday, there were 29 corona cases in the crew.
The United Nations and the Red Cross warn of a coronavirus outbreak in Tonga.
This would be a disaster for the small island nation with around 100,000 residents in the current situation, Taumoefolau said.