How Asean's humanitarian centre played vital role after Myanmar earthquake

Team used portable terminals to set up satellite links and restore crucial communication lines

- Hariz Baharudin Correspondent

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 can't even talk to each other or the affected states and regions such as Mandalay and Sagaing," Mr Lee told The Sunday 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.