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Australian, Indonesian authorities begin tsunami preparation training

Xinhua, November 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Australian and Indonesian authorities have commenced training drills to prepare for a possible catastrophic tsunami in the region.

Michael Keenan, Australia's Minister for Justice, said that the "tabletop" Ambon DiREx 2016 exercises would focus on exploring the coordination of regional assistance for Indonesia in the case of a fictional tsunami.

Keenan said in the scenario, which was developed by disaster management program DMInnovation, the tsunami had been triggered by an earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale.

"Exercise Ambon is the culmination of almost five years' work in a productive partnership between Australia and Indonesia, in collaboration with EAS (East Asia Summit) countries," Keenan said in a media release on Tuesday.

"The EAS Rapid Disaster Response Toolkit is world's best practice - an important resource that will enable countries in the region to provide quick and effective assistance in response to natural disasters such as the tsunami in this exercise.

"I applaud the initiative of our Indonesian partner in conducting this exercise, which will provide a valuable opportunity for all the countries in the region to actually apply the toolkit to a disaster scenario."

Willem Rampangilei, head of the Indonesian National Disaster Management Authority, said Australia and Indonesia's cooperation was reflective of the two nations' broader relationship.

"The strength of our relationship is underlined by strong cooperation, at various Government levels, across many issues including emergency management," Rampangilei said.

"Indonesia and Australia both understand the terrible impacts of catastrophic natural disasters.

"We can't prevent them, but knowing how best to provide inter-country assistance in their wake is very important for minimizing loss of life in the response phase, and the speed of the subsequent recovery."

Australia provided 750 million U.S. dollars in assistance to Indonesia in the wake of the December 2004 tsunami. Endit