DA NANG – VIET NAM, 20 October 2020 – The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) family through its Jakarta-based ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management or the AHA Centre, has mobilised ASEAN relief items in response to Tropical Storms LINFA and NANGKA to Viet Nam. Supported by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), the relief items, comprised of 1,300 kitchen sets and 1,000 shelter repair kits, were airlifted from the Disaster Emergency Logistics System for ASEAN or DELSA regional stockpile in Subang, Malaysia, with the assistance of United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot, and reached Danang International Airport in the evening of 20 October 2020.
Ms Adelina Kamal, the Executive Director of the AHA Centre, mentioned that the AHA Centre has been working closely with the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development – Viet Nam Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, in monitoring the impact of Tropical Storms LINFA and NANGKA. “Our hearts and prayers are with the communities affected by the storms. We have also been intensifying our disaster monitoring efforts since early October when the formation of tropical storms were first identified,” said Ms Adelina.
According to Ms Adelina, the relief items represent the tangible assistance and solidarity of the ASEAN countries in the spirit of ‘One ASEAN, One Response’. The AHA Centre will continue to stand ready to enhance country-led response in alleviating the suffering of the storms-affected communities.
The widespread floods caused by Tropical Storms LINFA and NANGKA not only have affected multiple provinces in central Viet Nam, but also other areas in Cambodia and Lao PDR. More than 800,000 people in Viet Nam have been affected by the storms and more than 66,500 people have been evacuated. The AHA Centre will remain on stand-by to support and coordinate with the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority as well as continue to monitor the situation in Viet Nam and other ASEAN countries. “We do hope that the relief items will lighten up the spirit of the communities affected by the storms in central Viet Nam,” Ms Adelina added.
On 15 October 2020, the AHA Centre organised an online executive briefing for the ASEAN Member States, diplomatic missions and humanitarian partners, together with the Secretary-General of ASEAN and the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority, to provide situational awareness and common operating picture on the effects of Tropical Storms LINFA and NANGKA in the ASEAN region. The AHA Centre continues to monitor the disaster situation in the region as another weather disturbance, Tropical Storm SAUDEL, is forecasted to make an impact on the areas in central Viet Nam that have experienced floods and landslides.
***
About the AHA Centre:
The AHA Centre is an inter-governmental organisation established by ten ASEAN Member States on 17 November 2011 with the aim to facilitate cooperation and coordination amongst ASEAN Member States and with relevant United Nations and international organisations in promoting regional collaboration in disaster management. The AHA Centre is based in Jakarta, Indonesia.
For more information, please contact:
Mr Moch Syifa, Communications Officer of the AHA Centre
Email : moch.syifa@ahacentre.org
Mobile : +6281553514882
