Jakarta, 19 October 2011
The ASEAN-Emergency Rapid Assessment Team (ERAT) was dispatched to Thailand on Saturday, 15 October, to assess flood-affected areas. The mission came after one of the worst floods in decades hit Thailand, claiming more than 300 lives and disrupting the lives of 8.8 million others—displacing around 200,000 from their home.
The five-man ERAT team from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, along with three in-country ERAT members, work under the supervision of the Director of the Emergency Operation Centre of Thailand and in coordination with the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. As part of the assessments, the team is also helping to identify the basic and immediate needs of the affected population.
“The team has set up its work station at the 2nd floor of the Flood Response Operation Centre located at Don Muang Airport, which serves as the nerve centre for flood relief and response for Thailand,” said Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN. “The team has observed the arrangement of relief goods distribution and monitored the floodwater diversion operation using sea vessels’ propellers to reduce the water level of Chao Praya River by speeding up its water flow into the sea. The team has also been conducting field assessments in affected provinces of Suphan Buri and Pathum Tani provinces outside Bangkok to further assess the damage and immediate needs of affected area,” he added.
The ASEAN-ERAT team is composed of experienced and trained individuals who have responded to disaster incidents, both in ASEAN region and beyond. ASEAN-ERAT was established by the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM), which comprises heads of national disaster management organisations in the ten ASEAN Member States. Since the establishment, ASEAN-ERAT has been deployed to several disaster incidents in the region, including Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, floods in Lao PDR in 2009, and tsunami in Mentawai island of Indonesia in October 2010.
Deployment of ASEAN-ERAT was activated by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) in close coordination with Secretary-General of ASEAN as the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Coordinator. AHA Centre, being established in Jakarta, will be officially launched at the sidelines of 19th ASEAN Summit in mid November. When fully operational, AHA Centre will serve as the coordination hub and centre point for mobilisation of resources to disaster affected areas in the ASEAN region.
ASEAN-ERAT is one of the response tools under the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER). The Agreement entered into force on 24 December 2009 following ratification by all ten ASEAN Member States. Australia has been supporting the development of ASEAN-ERAT.
“The deployment of ASEAN-ERAT to the ongoing crisis in Thailand is another manifestation of the ASEAN’s spirit of camaraderie in jointly responding to disaster emergencies through concerted national efforts and regional mechanism to build a disaster-resilient ASEAN Community,” Dr Surin concluded.
