Regional preparedness and early warning praised following tsunami threat

(Jakarta/Bangkok, 12 April 2012): The earthquake, aftershocks and tsunami warnings that had a number of Indian Ocean countries on high alert yesterday has put to test the region’s preparedness and disaster response systems.

At least eight countries issued tsunami alerts following an 8.6 magnitude earthquake that struck 437 kilometers off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia at 3.38 pm local time. Evacuation orders were issued immediately for at risk coastal areas in Indonesia followed by Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and Myanmar. Two hours later an 8.2 aftershock triggered a second wave of tsunami warnings across the region.

“The fact that most people in the affected areas were promptly alerted to the situation and moved to higher ground is a testament to the effectiveness of the preparedness actions and early warning system,” said Ignacio Leon-Garcia, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Indonesia. In the last seven years since the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami which killed more than 226,000 people following a 9.1 magnitude earthquake, countries affected such as Indonesia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka have invested heavily in disaster response capacity and early warning systems.

While no major Tsunamis eventuated and there are no reports of significant damages from yesterday’s earthquakes, early warning systems are being praised for their effectiveness, in particular the use of mobile phones which promptly alerted people to the risk so they could move to higher ground.

“It is during such moments that the effectiveness of our work on preparedness and early warning can be assessed. Based on this instance, I think we can be reassured that we are on the right track,” said Ignacio Leon-Garcia. National Search and Rescue Agencies and Disaster Response Teams from ASEAN and UN were on standby across the region and were closely monitoring the situation and exchanging information.

"It is clear that the investment by Governments and partners on disaster preparedness is bearing fruit and is the best way to address the region’s disaster management challenges. This lesson learned should encourage us all to increase our investment in disaster preparedness and management activities," said Oliver Lacey-Hall from the OCHA Asia Pacific regional office.

For more information please contact:

Kirsten Mildren, OCHA Regional Spokesperson, mildren@un.org, Tel. +66 2288 2856, Cell +66 819151276

Denis Okello, OCHA Indonesia, okellod@un.org, tel. +62 314 1308 126, mobile +62 811 910 5847

OCHA press releases are available at www.unocha.org or www.reliefweb.int.