Oct. 3 (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand’s government flew emergency supplies and personnel to the Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu today to deal with a severe fresh-water shortage, Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully said.

An air force C-130 Hercules arrived with supplies including two desalination plants and water containers as well as ministry officials, McCully said in a statement on the New Zealand government website.

Tuvalu, about 3,200 kilometers (1,980 miles) north of New Zealand, has declared a state of emergency due to water shortages in the capital Funafuti and on a number of outer islands, McCully said. New Zealand will be working with partners to consider the best medium-to-long-term response, he said.

--Editor: Mark Williams

To contact the reporter on this story: Tracy Withers in Wellington at twithers@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephanie Phang at sphang@bloomberg.net