Air Raro plays key role

When Cyclone Pat threatened the Southern Cook Islands last Wednesday, Air Rarotonga dispatched two aircraft carrying emergency personnel to be sheltered in Mauke in case the storm moved southward over Rarotonga.

By 1pm in the afternoon, as soon as the cyclonic winds began to abate on Aitutaki, the aircraft landed with police and other personnel to launch a critical emergency response. As the cyclone moved to the west of Rarotonga, the aircraft began evacuating visitors and others who needed urgent transport to Rarotonga.

By mid afternoon another flight departed from Rarotonga carrying more police and Emergency Centre personnel to Aitutaki.

Between Wednesday afternoon and Saturday night, a total of 330 people had been evacuated and 350 emergency workers and volunteers had been airlifted into Aitutaki along with seven tonnes of urgent cargo including generators, chainsaws, water pumps, tarpaulins and other essential equipment.

Air Rarotonga is often first to arrive in these emergency situations because of its daily outer-island operations and proximity, said managing director Ewan Smith.

“That was the case with Cyclone Martin and now Cyclone Pat. We were able to get in quickly moving essential personnel and supplies to tide things over until a Hercules could arrive with the heavy equipment and specialists,” he said.

In addition to dealing with the public emergency, the airline’s Aitutaki-based staff had to contend with their own badly damaged homes and distressed families. Rarotonga staff have been travelling to Aitutaki each day to handle ground operations while the company assists Aitutaki staff in repairing their homes.

“We need to help our local Aitutaki staff and their families get back to normal as quickly as possible,” Smith said.

He said that the response from local authorities and NGOs to Cyclone Pat has been positive.

“In hindsight there are always some things that might have been done differently or better but on the whole the emergency response to Cyclone Pat has been good,” he said. “In particular the organisation and rapid response of Cook Islands Red Cross has been a standout. There is a growing pool of skilled local knowledge and logistical ability to deal with emergency situations, and it showed this time. There are a lot of dedicated local people out there in Aitutaki doing a lot of good work.”

The airline is looking at ways to assist the Aitutaki community in the longer-term re-building phase.

“One of the first things we will do is support Aitutaki tourism operators in their efforts to get the flow of visitors back up and their businesses running smoothly,” Smith said.

Last Monday saw the first group of day trippers once again enjoying Aitutaki’s pristine lagoon.