HMAS Adelaide crew proud of Fiji cyclone mission

ADF and Republic of Fiji Military Forces’ logistics teams ensured vital supplies got to the thousands of people who needed them in cyclone-ravaged Fiji this month.

CAPTION: A Navy landing craft delivers disaster-relief supplies at Bekana Jetty in Vanua Levu, Fiji, during Operation Fiji Assist. Photo by Corporal Dustin Anderson. Story by Captain Zoe Griffyn.

About 120 tonnes of goods were unloaded from HMAS Adelaide in the disaster-relief effort following the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Yasa.

The category five cyclone made landfall at Fiji’s Vanua Levu island on December 17 last year, with winds of 240km/h and gusts up to 345km/h.

Sub-Lieutenant Georgia Chaffey of HMAS Adelaide said the loading, storage and distribution of additional supplies collected by Adelaide from Fiji’s capital, Suva, on the way to Vanua Levu ran smoothly.

“About 250 pallets of school supplies, food, hygiene kits, mattresses, tents, blankets and rainwater tanks were loaded into Adelaide,” Sub-Lieutenant Chaffey said.

“Once on board, the supplies were separated into groups for different islands and communities.

“They were then dispatched by air or Adelaide’s landing craft for delivery to where they were most required.”

Sapper Thomas Reading, 6th Engineer Support Regiment, deployed as a driver on Vanua Levu as part of Adelaide’s embarked forces.

“The scale and complex nature of the tasks means helping has been rewarding,” Sapper Reading said.

“It’s fulfilling to see what we can do for the community and the supplies we can give.”

At the request of the Fijian government after the cyclone hit, two RAAF C-17A Globemaster flights delivered emergency humanitarian supplies to Fiji, while two RAAF P-8A Poseidons provided an assessment of the damage caused by the cyclone.

More than 600 ADF personnel deployed on HMAS Adelaide to Fiji on Christmas Eve.

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