The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) together with the group’s members and dialogue partners met in Jakarta, Indonesia, on November 12 to plan their response to the devastation caused by super typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and areas of Vietnam.

This week, ASEAN will distribute relief items including generators, mobile storage and ASEAN Family Kits to Tacloban, the Philippines’ hardest hit region, ASEAN Secretary General Le Luong Minh said.

The association is also readying a stockpile to meet the urgent needs of typhoon victims, particularly food and clean water. However, a key impediment is logistics as the airport in Tacloban was destructed, he added.

Executive Director of the AHA Centre Said Faisal stressed that this is the time for ASEAN to work together in the spirit of solidarity to mobilise all resources in support for the Philippine government and people.

Meanwhile, the Secretary General has written to Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh to convey his sympathy to the Vietnamese people. He affirmed that ASEAN stands ready to assist Vietnam if requested and will continue to work closely with the AHA Centre to help the country respond to disasters.

Apart from ASEAN’s support, the United Nations has announced a relief programme worth 300 million USD added to the 25 million USD in urgent aid earlier given to the Philippines . Japan and the United Arab Emirates pledged to provide 10 million USD each for the country while Australia will give over 9 million USD in relief. Many other countries, including Vietnam , have also offered aid to the Philippines-VNA