How Asean’s humanitarian centre played a vital role after Myanmar earthquake

SINGAPORE – With the critical 72-hour window to rescue earthquake victims closing quickly, Mr Lee Yam Ming and his team wasted no time when they touched down in Myanmar in late March.

But the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) executive director and his people did not rush to lift rubble or search for survivors of the

7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck near Mandalay on March 28

.

Their priority was to restore communications, as the devastation had knocked out phone, internet and satellite networks across the affected regions.

Mr Lee, who is a Singaporean, said that was a critical first step as, without connectivity, Myanmar’s disaster agency could neither coordinate internally nor seek help from Asean, the United Nations and other aid groups.

His team used portable terminals to bypass damaged ground infrastructure and set up satellite links, allowing officials and rescue workers to resume internet connection and make calls.

“This is a real issue during an earthquake... The communications infrastructure was badly disrupted. The ministries couldn’t even talk to each other or the affected states and regions such as Mandalay and Sagaing,” Mr Lee told The Straits Times on Aug 21.

“Even their Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the fire brigade – they are all in different locations, they cannot communicate,” he added, addressing the initial lack of updates from Myanmar’s military-run government following the earthquake.

Since the military junta

seized power in a 2021 coup

, Myanmar, which has been plagued by civil war, has been subject to internet shutdowns and limited telecommunications services.

And the March earthquake – one of the deadliest in Myanmar’s history that killed more than 3,600 people and injured some 5,000 others – further hampered its links with the outside world.

Still, despite media reports of international groups facing difficulties entering Myanmar to provide aid, Mr Lee said his team was able to move quickly on the ground.

He attributed this to the AHA Centre’s longstanding ties with Myanmar’s disaster management officials built up over decades and carried through different administrations.

“So we were the first to meet the government authorities, find out what they want, and we communicated the situation and the requested items they needed not only to the Asean member states, but also to United Nations agencies... and the Red Cross,” he said.

This ability to move quickly, coordinate with multiple partners and establish a bridge between the national authorities and international responders is the AHA Centre’s key strength, added Mr Lee, who has been its leader since 2021.

The centre was established in 2011 and is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia.

It was created to support Asean member states in disaster monitoring, preparedness and response, serving as the grouping’s central coordinating body during emergencies.

It has a core staff of about 40 to 50 people, drawn from across the region. In addition, it manages a wider roster of more than 400 trained responders, seconded from regional national disaster agencies and ready to be deployed.

Its work ranges from managing regional stockpiles and training rapid assessment teams to running joint disaster simulations and coordinating international aid flows.

The AHA Centre has been active in response to recent major regional events, such as Typhoon Noru in the Philippines in 2022, Cyclone Mocha in Myanmar’s Rakhine State in 2023, and Super Typhoon Yagi in 2024, which caused deadly flooding across parts of South-east Asia.

Some disasters come with warning signs, like typhoons that can be tracked days in advance; others arrive without warning.

Mr Lee found out about the Myanmar earthquake while on a plane returning to Singapore from Geneva and immediately began coordinating the relief effort.

Within four hours of landing on March 29, Mr Lee was aboard a flight to Myanmar, with some of his staff cancelling their Hari Raya Aidilfitri plans and flying in from Jakarta.

They spent about two weeks there, coordinating Asean’s Emergency Response and Assessment Team on the ground, as well as overseeing relief distribution systems like the Disaster Emergency Logistics System for Asean, which manages pre-positioned stockpiles of essential aid items.

On the

recent clashes between Thailand and Cambodia

, Mr Lee said the AHA Centre “stands ready” to provide support if called upon. He added that involvement in such situations requires political clearance.

Mr Lee noted that while natural disasters allow the centre to deploy assistance immediately under pre-agreed procedures, political crises or conflicts are far more complex.

For instance, although humanitarian assistance is a key element of the

Asean Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar

drawn up in 2021, it was only months later that the AHA Centre was able to carry out its first assessment – a delay Mr Lee said was likely compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said that the centre can move only when called upon by Asean’s political leadership, especially when it comes to non-natural disasters that can be sensitive in nature.

The centre’s work is also shaped by how it is funded. Besides Asean, part of its support comes from dialogue partners – countries and organisations such as Japan, the European Union, Australia and Canada – in the form of warehouses, stockpiles, training programmes and expertise.

Mr Lee stressed that projects must align with Asean’s five-year disaster management plan.

“Everything must be Asean-centric. The training, the exercises, any visits... It must be agreed to by all 10 countries, before it can be approved and carried out,” he added.

While in earlier years the centre was focused on emergency response, it has expanded its remit to cover prevention, preparedness and risk reduction, reflecting Asean’s broader shift towards building resilience before disasters strike.

This includes paying greater attention to the mental health of responders.

Mr Lee said that disaster workers often face traumatic scenes, from collapsed homes to dead bodies, and that younger responders in particular are more willing than in the past to speak up about stress.

To better prepare them, the centre works with international non-profit organisation Mercy Malaysia, which runs psychological first aid training for the Erat.

The courses teach responders how to cope with stress, recognise warning signs in teammates, and approach affected communities with sensitivity, especially women and children.

“It is important to prepare people before they are deployed,” Mr Lee said, adding that mental health support is now seen as an essential part of disaster management, not an afterthought.

It is a common sight in disaster zones to see people crying and mourning the loss of loved ones and property.

Mr Lee remembers a Myanmar disaster agency official in tears as she reported to AHA Centre officials the on-the-ground situation on the day of the earthquake. Her office building had collapsed, and her own family members had been trapped.

Another scene that remains in his memory in the aftermath of Typhoon Noru in 2022 is that of a young boy sitting in the rain under a makeshift shelter of bamboo poles and tarpaulin after his home was reduced to ruins.

Asked how he personally manages the mental toll of the job, Mr Lee said with a smile that he has been doing this work for a long time, noting that he joined the Singapore Civil Defence Force in the late 2000s and had already seen his share of fires, rescues and accidents.

But this does not mean he is immune from the stresses of disaster zones.

Mr Lee said that in the first few days after arriving in Myanmar following the recent earthquake, he was running on only three to four hours of sleep, with his mind still racing even when he tried to rest.

During an operation, it can be hard to find downtime and time to rest. And Mr Lee often found himself waking in the middle of the night to send e-mails or WhatsApp messages.

But after three or four days on high alert, he knew that he had to relax a little and catch up on sleep.

He added: “During the peak period, you don’t have time to relax. But, after that, you have to relax a little bit, you have to keep some time to yourself. After working for a while... you have to take a little bit of a break.

“Sometimes, to relax a little bit, I’ll chit-chat with friends. It’s part and parcel of the job.”