The state of emergency was declared after existing desalination plants broke during a drought, exacerbating an already dire situation.
The Tuvalu Red Cross said it had not rained properly in the country for more than six months. Meteorologists have forecast a lack of run until December. Typically it gets between 200mm to 400mm of rainfall per month.
A report from the Red Cross last week said the former British colony relied mostly on rainwater, which has been scarce this year because of La Nina weather pattern across the Pacific, which can cause extreme weather, including both drought and floods. Parts of the capital, Funafuti, and a number of outer islands, were the worst hit areas.
Murray McCully, the New Zealand foreign minister, said a defence service C-130 plane on Monday flew in two desalination units and a number of water containers. The country was working with the Red Cross to deliver aid workers and supplies as quickly as possible. New Zealand is about 1,980 south of Tuvalu.
“New Zealand will be working with partners and other donors to consider the best medium-to-long-term response options,” he said.
Tataua Pefe, secretary general of the Tuvalu Red Cross, said water supplies in some areas would run out as early as today [Tue].
“It’s not safe for consumption,” he said. “Some animals have died recently and we think it’s because of subterranean water.”
David Hebblethwaite, The water management adviser with the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, warned that if no reliable water supply could be put in place, the shortage could start affecting the health of Tuvalu’s residents.
“Potentially medical supplies if a prolonged drought leads to an escalation of diahorreal diseases, for example,” he told the ABC in Australia.
Surveys on Tuvalu, a Pacific atoll with a population of just 10,000 people, making it one of the world’s smallest independent nations, had already found that some animals had died because of the water shortage.
The Polynesian nation, midway between Hawaii and Australia, is scarce of fresh water but has an abundance of seawater. It has told the United Nations it is at severe risk of being inundated if the problems surrounding global warming are not addressed.
Willy Telavi, the Tuvalu prime minister, has previously said: “For a small island developing state like Tuvalu, climate change is no doubt a security issue which threatens our survival.”
The low-lying country, built on nine coral atolls, is one of the most endangered Pacific Islands and, more than a decade ago, asked Australia and New Zealand if they would take Tuvalu’s residents if evacuation became necessary.
Monday was a national holiday in Tuvalu and government officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
