Brunei Joins Disaster Drill In Cambodia
By Yusrin Junaidi

Bandar Seri Begawan - The annual Cambodian joint armed forces of the Asean Regional Disaster Emergency Respond Simulation Exercise (ARDEX-06) will be conducting an exercise in Kein Svay District and Takhmau City, Kandal Province Skin south of Phnom Penh, Cambodia this Wednesday (September 27).

Yesterday eight officers from the Sultanate led by officers from the National Disaster Management Centre (NDMC), Ministry of Home Affairs together with the Search and Rescue (SARs) team from Fire and Rescue Department departed for Cambodia yesterday.

This will be the second time that the Fire and Rescue Department will be taking part in such an exercise. The department previously took part in a similar exercise in Kuala Lumpur.

Officers who are representing the NDMC are Senior Supt Lim Hock Guan and Supt Janaidi bin Gunung, while the Fire and Rescue Department's SARs team is being led by Acting Supt Pg Hj Saharuddin bin Pg Hj Metali.

The exercise in Cambodia is to generate constrgctive and practical inputs in preparation for the implementation of the Asean Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER).

In the scenario, Cambodia will declare a state of emergency after major floods hit the country. More than 800,000 people will be affected due to the flood. Cambodia will be requesting for international humanitarian assistance from Asean member countries through theAHA Centre (the Asean Secretariat will take the role of being the interim centre).

The Brunei team, comprising SARs personnel and divers, will be dispatched to various areas to conduct a major search and rescue operation that will include evacuation of affected communities with others member countries. The operation will be led by Cambodian authorities.

The scope and mechanism of the exercise will emphasise on the operational movement i.e. disaster response time and coordination among participating teams.

The exercise will also encompass the whole cycle of emergency response such as activation, mobilisation, engagement and demobilisation.

Following the exercise, there will be meetings on Exercise Evaluation, 8'h Asean Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) as well as Incident Command System (ICS) Task Forces. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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