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Tsunami warning issued for the Indian Ocean: Malteser International on standby for emergency relief

by Malteser International | Malteser International - Germany
Wednesday, 11 April 2012 14:20 GMT

* Any views expressed in this article are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Cologne. A tsunami warning has been issued after a strong earthquake off the coast of the Indonesian Island of Sumatra sent tremors throughout the entire Indian Ocean region. The Malteser International teams in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Myanmar are on standby and ready to provide emergency assistance when needed.

The staff members at Malteser International’s offices in the region have evacuated their offices and are waiting in safety further inland. “In Aceh, in north-eastern Sumatra, no extensive damages can be observed”, says Julia Brunner, Malteser International’s senior desk officer for Indonesia, after talking to the team on the ground. So far, Malteser International has not received any reports of damages in the countries affected by the earthquake. The organisation will remain in contact with its teams in Lhokseumawe/Indonesia, Batticaloa/Sri Lanka, and Sittwe/Myanmar, as well as with its partners in Tamil Nadu, southern India.
 

Attention editors: Roland Hansen, head of the Asia department at Malteser International, and Julia Brunner, senior desk officer for Indonesia, are available at headquarters for interviews. Contact through Malteser International’s headquarters at +49 (0) 221 98 22-169.

Malteser International is the worldwide relief agency of the Sovereign Order of Malta for humanitarian aid. The organisation provides aid in about 100 projects in more than 20 countries without distinction of religion, race or political persuasion. Christian values and the humanitarian principles of impartiality and independence are the foundation of its work. For further information: www.malteser-international.org and www.orderofmalta.int

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