ASEAN offers relief aids to Phl over typhoon Yolanda

JAKARTA (Xinhua) - ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh expressed his "great concern and sadness" to the Philippine government over typhoon Haiyan that has devastated the central part of the country, and offered aids to the victims, a statement released by the ASEAN Secretariat said here today.

 "The ASEAN stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the Philippines in these difficult times and we are ready to show the ASEAN spirit of a caring community to affected populations in the country," Secretary-General Minh said in the statement sent to Philippines Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert Del Rosario.

"Within the framework of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER), we are working closely with the AHA Centre to ensure ASEAN's effective response to the disaster," he added.

The ASEAN secretary general was mandated by the ASEAN leaders in the 14th ASEAN Summit in 2009 to serve as the coordinator of the Jakarta-based ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance AHA, which can be activated any time at the request of the affected ASEAN  member in the event of a major disaster, whether it be a natural disaster or a pandemic.

The AHA Center is the ASEAN's operational engine in monitoring disasters region-wide and coordinating ASEAN's emergency response.

The AHA Center has deployed its team members and the ASEAN Emergency Rapid Assessment Team (ASEAN- ERAT) in Manila and Tacloban City to coordinate with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council in discussing possible relief support for the Philippines.

The team in Tacloban helped set up emergency communications prior to the landfall of Haiyan to help the disaster management office communicate with national government in earliest hours after the typhoon hit the city.

An additional ASEAN group that consists of the AHA Centre Field Team Leader, ERAT members from Brunei Darussalam, and a representative from AADMER Partnership Group arrived in Tacloban on Sunday. The area was reported to be the hardest hit by this supertyphoon that has ransacked the Philippine since Friday.

The ASEAN team will assess immediate assistance needed by the disaster management authorities and affected communities. The results of the assessment will be shared by  ASEAN member states and potential assisting entities to help them decide the types of assistance to be provided.

The strongest typhoon recorded in history has reportedly killed over 10,000 people  and affected 9.5 million others in the country, displacing people and damaging the  infrastructure.