USS Sampson provides disaster relief to Tonga after volcano eruption and tsunami

Sailors and Marines aboard the guided-missile destroyer Sampson provided disaster relief to the Pacific nation of Tonga on January 25 following a series of natural disasters.

Sampson’s efforts are part of a larger international relief operation, with the US Navy working alongside the Australian Defense Force in coordination with troops from France, New Zealand, the UK, Fiji and Japan. .

MH-60R Seahawk helicopters assigned to the “Scorpions” of the 49th Maritime Attack Helicopter Squadron aboard the Sampson conducted aerial damage assessments and dropped supplies to the local population. According to a Navy press releasethe destroyer will remain in the area to provide more disaster relief efforts if needed.

“Team Sampson was ready and ready to join this effort at a moment’s notice and we are proud to work with our like-minded partners to assist our friends in times of need,” said Sampson’s commanding officer, Cmdr . Adam Soukup, said in the release.

“Our presence and alliances in the Indo-Pacific allow us to come together quickly to deliver assistance where it is needed when requested, ultimately reinforcing our shared values ​​of regional security.”

The people of the southeast the volcano erupted January 15, killing at least three people. According to NASA scientiststhe eruption was larger than the atomic bomb the United States dropped on Hiroshima during World War II and was equivalent to four to 18 megatons of dynamite.

the resulting tsunami waves – which Red Cross officials say stood about 50ft tall – hit the archipelago nation of around 100,000 people, displacing citizens and tourists while severely damaging national infrastructure. As the eruption also severed the country’s only undersea cable, online communication with the island nation was disrupted, leading Red Cross officers to speculate that the true toll of the disaster could be worse.

This is not the first time Sampson’s crew has brought humanitarian aid to the Indo-Pacific region; Sampson’s crew members provided disaster relief after a earthquake hit new zealand in 2016.

Sampson is deployed as part of Task Force 71/ Destroyer Squadron 15 while attached to the U.S. 7th Fleet.