Indonesia’s Disaster Mitigation Capabilities Remain Poor
JAKARTA, KOMPAS -- Indonesia is highly prone to disasters but its disaster mitigation capabilities remain poor. Consequently, the number of fatalities remains high as a result of natural disasters.
Indonesia had the world’s highest death toll from natural disasters in 2018. Of the 10,373 disaster-related fatalities in the world last year, 4,535 were in Indonesia. This shows that the country remains highly prone to disasters and that its disaster mitigation and risk reduction abilities remain poor.
This finding was highlighted in a report issued by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reducation (UNISDR) based on data from the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) and the Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT) in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday (24/1/2019).
Geological disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, contributed to the largest cause of deaths globally. Some 4,417 fatalities due to such geological activities were in Indonesia, while 425 were in Guatemala and 145 were in Papua New Guinea.
CRED data also highlighted that Indonesia has contributed to a huge death toll from natural disasters since 2000. The 2004 Aceh tsunami, which took 242,765 lives, was the second highest death toll after the 2010 Haiti earthquake with its 297,140 fatalities.
Responding to the report, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in Jakarta on Friday (25/1) that, “Indonesia faces high threats of disasters but preparedness and mitigation efforts remain poor. This leads to a huge death toll.”
Sutopo said that disaster risk reduction was not prioritized in development policies. Many regional administrations simply refuse to talk about local disaster risks in the name of attracting investment.
Extreme weather
Other than geological disasters, the CRED data also shows that weather-related disasters are on the rise and their impacts are expanding. Mami Mizutori, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, said, “Not one country was spared from extreme weather last year. Floods, drought, storms and peatland fires affected 57.3 million people.”
Throughout 2018, floods affected 35.4 million people, including 23 million in Kerala, India. Floods took 2,859 lives, including 504 in India, 220 in Japan, 199 in Nigeria and 151 in North Korea.
In Indonesia, recent floods and landslides in several regions in South Sulawesi were triggered by extreme weather, namely extremely high rainfall of more than 300 millimeters per day. Other than natural factors, environmental degradation also caused floods during heavy rain in South Sulawesi. BNPB data shows that the floods were the worst in South Sulawesi since 1998.
A study by the Hasanuddin University’s center for disaster research and development shows that sediment along the Jeneberang river in Gowa regency led the river to overflow during high rainfall. The sediment is due to sand mining along the river, among other reasons.
Some of the rocks carried by the river came from Mt. Bawakaraeng at the upstream of the Jeneberang river. “The upstream of the Jeneberang river has a high level of sedimentation after the landslide on the caldera of Mt. Bawakaraeng in 2004,” the center’s head, Adi Maulana, said.
Adi said the sediment was carried by the river and settled at the Bili-Bili dam in Gowa regency. The sediment reduced the dam’s water storage volume. Consequently, the dam filled up quickly whenever it rained heavily in Gowa regency.
As of Thursday, thousands of people in South Sulawesi still lived in displaced person shelters. In Gowa regency alone, the local disaster mitigation agency (BPBD) said 3,389 people were living in shelters.
Due to worries of more landslides as rainfall remains high, residents of Gowa’s hilly regions have begun to leave their homes. The landslide in Pattiro on Tuesday buried more than 20 people.
Meanwhile, flash flood victims in Jeneponto regency have begun to repair their homes and cleanse them from mud. At least 350 members of a joint team involving the military, police, National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), BPBD and various other agencies, have been deployed to various flood-affected regions.
Outside South Sulawesi, rainfall remains high in several regions. Tropical cyclone Riley, which moves in a northwesterly direction and is increasing in strength, has led to heavier rain in several regions. The tropical cyclone had only affected eastern Indonesia but is now beginning to affect weather in central and western regions as well.
Medium-to-heavy rain is predicted in Lampung, Banten, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, Central Kalimantan’s southern coast, South Kalimantan, South Sulawesi’s southern coast, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara and East Nusa Tenggara (AIK/DIM/REN/FRN)