Asean Sec-Gen, AHA Centre Monitor Earthquake In Aceh Closely

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya JAKARTA, April 12 (Bernama) -- The 8.5 magnitude earthquake which hit 510km southwest of the Simeuleu district, Aceh on Wednesday was also closely monitored by Asean Secretary-General Dr Surin Pitsuwan along with the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre). The Jakarta-based AHA Centre was also in constant contact with all the 10 Asean countries and its partners. After hours of monitoring the region, Dr Surin, who is also the Asean Humanitarian Assistance Coordinator, announced at 8pm Wednesday that the "Tsunami watch and warning had been cancelled all across the Indian Ocean", the Asean secretariat said in a statement Thursday. The tremor was felt in Banda Aceh, Padang, Bengkulu and Lampung as well as several neibouring countries like Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Maldives. The tsunami watch ended at 7.43pm as announced by the Indonesian Bureau of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics for countries ranging from Indonesia to Thailand, India, Australia, the Seychelles, Somalia, Oman and South Africa as indicated by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC). So far, there has not been any report of serious casualty nor damage but assessments in surrounding areas are still being conducted by local authorities. Following the powerful earthquake, Malaysia and Thailand had also issued tsunami warnings and urged their people to stay away from coastal areas. Malaysia has also been in touch with AHA Centre, ready to mobilise assistance while Search and Rescue Teams were being prepared in Jakarta. "Asean is better prepared to deal with disasters now than in 2004 when the Great Indian Ocean tsunami hit the shores of Aceh, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, and Thailand, killing 240,000 people. "All devices detecting tsunami in the Indian Ocean worked well, and all capitals were on alert," said Dr Surin. In addition, international friends were also on guard to send help, for example, the UN Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) at the Subang Airport, Malaysia, was on maximum alert to move rescue and relief items. The European Emergency Response Centre was also in-touch with Asean's AHA Centre to pledge assistance. -- BERNAMA