Cost of Disasters Reaches Trillions
In addition to lives lost, post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction are large costs. In the regions, poor disaster mitigation increases the risk of fatalities.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The intensity and destructiveness of floods and landslides are increasing in several regions. Aside from the number of lives lost, these disasters cost the government trillions of rupiah every year.
Data for this year alone from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) shows that Rp 1.7 trillion (US$118.91 million) in government funding has been required for post-flood recovery in South Sulawesi in January, Rp 1.7 trillion for the flash flood in Sentani of Jayapura, Papua, and Rp 600 billion for the Bengkulu floods.
“Aside from these major disasters, the government has received requests for Rp 2 trillion through the BNPB for post-disaster recovery following floods, landslides and tornadoes. The government has only been able to approve Rp 600 billion because of the limited budget,” BNPB spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said in Jakarta on Monday (5/6/2019).
In Sentani, beyond damaged houses and public infrastructure, thousands of local residents have been evacuated because of the overflowing Lake Sentani. In several regions in Java – including Sidoarjo and Gresik in East Java, Bandung in West Java and Jakarta – flood and landslide hazards still remain as extreme rainfall has continued through the seasonal transition.
Extreme rainfall can be fatal in regions with poor drainage, problematic water management and critical watershed areas. This has been happening across all regions.
The Bengkulu floods left behind a harrowing sight, as 554 cows and goats were killed and 760 hectares of rice fields were inundated. “Thousands of tons of fish in fish ponds were carried away by the flood. They were ready to be sold during the [fasting month of] Ramadan,” Bengkulu Governor Rohidin Mersyah told State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno at the site of the flood.
Reserve funds
The Finance Ministry doubled its disaster reserve fund this year to Rp 15 trillion. This fund is outside the budgets for the BNPB and disaster insurance.
The ministry’s director general of budgeting, Askolani, said that the disaster reserve fund was prioritized for post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction in West Nusa Tenggara and Central Sulawesi. The funds are “on call” and ready for distribution.
In 2018, a disaster budget of Rp 7.3 trillion was realized. The figure has been doubled this year, as Rp 650 billion above the budget cap of Rp 6.5 trillion was realized last year.
Askolani continued that the state and regional budgets had additional allocation for the disaster reserve fund. However, the central government had not set any specific rules regarding the percentage of regional budgets to be allocated to the disaster reserve fund. Regional administrations are fully authoritized to determine the percentage depending on local needs and capacity. The state budget has allocated Rp 610 billion for the BNPB.
As for disaster management, adequate capacity building and disaster mitigation funding have yet to be established to counter the increasing vulnerability to hydrometeorological disasters, even though regional development has increased disaster hazards, which would in turn increase the number of victims and financial losses.
“We have seen many advances in disaster response capacity. However, mitigation efforts in the regions remain limited,” Sutopo said.
In Banjarnegara, Central Java, mitigation training is offered despite the lack of familiarization. Consistency remains a problem, such as the absence of a regular siskamling (community patrol) system that contributed to the 108 lives that were lost during the December 2014 landslide in Jemblung.
“I did not know. I only knew that I should run to the village hall if the siren sounded,” said Jemblung resident Marliah, 34.
In Papua, the regional disaster mitigation agency (BPBD) receives an annual budget of around Rp 2 billion. At 30 BPBD officers per area, the number of personnel is not enough for regions that have extreme geographical conditions.
“The potential for disaster exists all throughout Papua and only 27 BPBD [are available]. The Asmat and Merauke regencies do not have BPBDs,” said Papua BPBD head Weliam Manderi.
The floods and landslides that occurred in Enrekang, South Sulawesi, from late April to early May has incurred a cost of around Rp 30 billion. The region has an emergency reserve fund of only Rp 1 billion. “We will ask for help from the provincial and central governments,” said Enrekang BPBD chief Benny Mansjur. (KRN/RAM/AIK/PDS/DKA/FLO/REN)