The increasing volcanic activity of Mount Agung offers lessons on the importance of managing natural disasters in dealing with socioeconomic life.
Mt Agung in Bali has been at the highest alert level of Awas (Warning), but when it might erupt cannot be predicted. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate, most of whom were unprepared and left in a rush, leaving behind their homes, farms, and especially their cattle.
Another lesson from the Awas status is the absence of adequate information on the danger zones that have to be cleared of people. A great many evacuees learned that their homes were actually located in a safe zone only after they had reached the evacuation centers.
The incomplete information has also impacted the Balinese tourism industry. Foreign tourist arrivals in Bali this year were expected to reach 6 million, up by 1 million from the previous year. However, Mt Agung’s Awas status has caused the number of arrivals to fall by 20 percent within a month since the highest-level alert was declared. Several countries even issued a temporary travel warning in connection with Mt Agung.
Ironically, the fall in the number of foreign tourist arrivals was caused by the absence of accurate information. Tourism Minister Arief Yahya even needed to make a statement ensuring that Bali was safe, and that only 2 percent of the island would be affected by an eruption. This shows that the regional government and related disaster institutions were not prepared to handle the potential disaster. Mt Agung last erupted in 1963, not too long ago in terms of geological time.
We have learned from a number of disasters at home and in other countries. After the Aceh tsunami at the end of 2004, many people became aware of the dangers the disaster posed, and became relatively knowledgeable regarding the possibility of a tsunami when an earthquake occurred below the seabed. We have also experienced the 2010 eruptions of Mt Merapi in Central Java and Mt Sinabung in North Sumatera, each with their own characteristics.
Nevertheless, it turns out that we were not prepared enough when Mt Agung became active. This incident serves as a lesson that many things must be done to improve the understanding of natural disasters among the general public and local officials.
The regional government must continue to disseminate information on at-risk areas and the way to mitigate and manage disasters. We can learn from Japan, an earthquake-prone country that teaches schoolchildren from an early age on how to respond to earthquakes.
Our country is known for its many active volcanoes. Disaster mitigation should be promoted as part of tourism.