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As Tsunami Watch Ends, Concern Worldwide Calls on First Responders to Stay Vigilant
New York, April 11, 2012 After two earthquakes measuring magnitude 8.6 and 8.2

respectively sparked fears of a tsunami in Indonesia and across the Indian Ocean, Concern Worldwide calls for the international community and first responders to remain vigilant in monitoring for aftershocks and preparing to respond if needed. Although the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PWTC) has now cancelled the tsunami watch declared after the first quake, Concern believes todays events underline the need for disaster preparedness. The dreadful events of 2004 have not been repeated on this occasion, but the international community and first responders must remain vigilant over the coming hours and days as significant aftershocks are to be expected, said Tom Arnold, CEO of Concern. Our thoughts are with the people in this region, many of whom survived the 2004 disaster and bear the memory, sadness and shock associated with it. The two earthquakes are a strong reminder that disaster preparedness in earthquake-prone zones like Indonesia is absolutely critical in preventing loss of life in the event of a major emergency. The benefits of investing in disaster risk reduction systems can be seen with the early warning systems that were put in place following the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people, which were considered largely effective in todays earthquakes. Concern works in three of the countries that are on high alert India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. We have been monitoring the situation on the ground since the news first broke, said Mr. Arnold. We remain in close contact with our teams there on an hourly basis. Experts now say that it appears that a tsunami has not been generated because of the horizontal, rather than vertical, movement of the earths plates in this case.
About Concern Worldwide Concern Worldwide is an international, non-governmental humanitarian organization dedicated to reducing extreme poverty, with more than 3,200 personnel working in 25 of the poorest countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Concern Worldwide targets the root causes of extreme poverty through programs in health, education, livelihoods and microfinance, HIV and AIDS, and emergency response, directly reaching more than 9.5 million people. For more information, please visit www.concernusa.org or follow us on Twitter at @Concern. www.concernusa.org