ASEAN leaders, he said, have demonstrated their commitment to joint disaster response efforts, and the United States is pleased to have had a role in the creation of the DMRS system.
The system was recently completed by a team of US-supported international specialists following an eight-month installation of a new state-of-the-art disaster monitoring and response system for the 10-member nation organisation at the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) based in Jakarta.
The system provides streams of data on hazards and natural disasters from all over ASEAN, combining them into one interface for disaster monitoring and decision making.
The system now operational at the centre will, if fully utilised by the member states, save lives and resources. The United States is honoured to have supported this important ASEAN initiative.
The system was officially launched at a gathering of ASEAN's senior disaster management officials, dialogue partners and international organisations at the 21st ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management meeting. Dr Michael Yates, US AID Regional Mission Director led the US delegation.
US AID will bring disaster management action officers from across ASEAN together in Jakarta for a three-day Training of Trainers on the system by the Pacific Disaster Center experts at the end of January.
The AHA Centre, working closely with the ASEAN Secretariat, has welcomed assistance from the United States and other ASEAN Dialogue Partners in advancing its disaster management capabilities.
US Ambassador to ASEAN David Carden said ASEAN has shown great leadership in developing regional approaches to facilitating trans-border cooperation in emergency preparedness and response.-Asia One (January 12, 2013)
No comments:
Post a Comment