RNZAF: Pacific Cyclone Rescue and Reconnaissance
The destruction caused by Cyclone Percy has been caught on camera by the crew of an Air Force Orion.
Roto Island, Moto Kavata are part of the Puka Puka group in the northern Cook Islands.
Tuesday afternoon the Orion carried out a reconnaissance flight over Puka Puka in the northern Cook Islands.
The crew assessed that at least eighty percent of the roofs on the Island had been blown over and the area had been severely hit by the storm.
Earlier this morning the Orion located a fishing vessel, floundering northeast of Samoa.
The windows on the Breanna Lynn had been blown in and the fishing vessel had no power or working engine when the Orion found it at about 10am.
The vessel had been flooded, although most of the water was pumped out, and it’s liferaft lost during the cyclone.
A liferaft was dropped from the Orion to the seven crew onboard the fishing vessel, who were safe and well.
Last week the Breanna Lynn played a vital role in the search and rescue of other vessels damaged by cyclones Olaf and Nancy.
The Air Force Orion has now landed in Samoa where it will remain overnight, before carrying out a reconnaissance flight over Nassau early tomorrow morning.