PRESS RELEASES

Participation in the Mentawai Megathrust DiREx 2014 International Disaster Prevention Exercise

11 April 2014

The Indonesian government held an international disaster prevention exercise “Mentawai Megathrust DiREx 2014” in Padang, West Sumatra from 17 to 22 March. The event was attended by the governments of Indonesia, ASEAN member states, international organizations such as ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre), as well as East Asia Summit (EAS) member states including Japan, the United States and Australia. From Japan side, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), the Mission of Japan to ASEAN, and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) participated.

A series of exercises against large-scale earthquake and tsunami by the Indonesian government in cooperation with foreign governments including Japan and international organizations were operated during the event. AHA Centre played key role in information sharing and coordination between Indonesian government and ASEAN member states by utilizing WebEOC, the part of ICT system which was installed in AHA Centre with the assistance of Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF). Field exercise of the disaster prevention wireless system utilized Japanese technology was also conducted with the support of the JAIF. The wireless system and JICA’s exhibition about disaster management were displayed at the exhibition session of the event.

【Ref.1】 AHA Center (ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management) was established in November 2011 by ASEAN for the purpose of facilitating cooperation and coordination among ASEAN Member States and with relevant international organizations such as the United Nations in the field of disaster management.

Ref.2】 Japan’s assistance to ASEAN in the field of disaster management Japan attaches great importance to its assistance to ASEAN in the field of disaster management. Japan has assisted AHA Centre for its establishment under the project “Study on the establishment and operationalisation of the AHA Centre” (USD 300,000), for development of its ICT system under the project “Establishment of an integrated Information and Communication Technology to strengthen the operation of AHA Centre-Phase I” (USD 1.6 million). “Establishment of an integrated Information and Communication Technology System to strengthen the operation of ASEAN Coordination Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) – Phase2” (USD4.9million ). Japan has also helped ASEAN establish “Disaster Emergency Logistic System in ASEAN” (USD 12 million) in December 2012 in which disaster relief items are stockpiled in and transported from the warehouse established in UNHRD depot in Subang, Malaysia. In order to train future leaders for disaster management in ASEAN region, AHA Centre Executive (ACE) program, the six-month-long training program with the participation of two experts from each National Disaster Management Organization in every ASEAN Member State, has been established. The first batch of the program started in this January with thirteen experts from seven ASEAN Member States.