Mataram (ANTARA) - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has\nasked regional heads in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) to draw up disaster\nrisk assessments in order to reduce casualties should a disaster\nstrike.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the cost of rehabilitation and reconstruction is far\ngreater,\u201d said BNPB chief Lieutenant General Suharyanto, speaking to\njournalists after a coordination meeting (Rakor) on drought and the\nintegration of disaster risk assessments into regional development\nplanning documents in Mataram on Friday.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that NTB falls within a high-risk disaster zone.\nAccording to BNPB data, over the ten-year period from 2015 to 2025, the\nregion experienced 61 disasters, behind only West Java, Central Java and\nEast Java.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is if we speak of Indonesia\u2019s geographic position. So NTB is\nthe fourth highest in Indonesia. That is already very high,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
He revealed that of the ten regencies and cities in NTB, Bima Regency\nhas recorded the most frequent disasters over the past decade, with 12\ndisaster events recorded there.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we hope the Governor, together with the regents and mayors, must\ncarry out disaster risk mapping in their respective areas,\u201d Suharyanto\nstressed.<\/p>\n
In addition, Suharyanto said the whole of NTB falls into the yellow\ncategory for drought hazard risk. More seriously, 50 districts in NTB\nhave already been struck by drought.<\/p>\n
He added that drought management in NTB is relatively\nstraightforward, meaning weather modification can be carried out in the\nprovince, while the condition of NTB\u2019s forests is not overly\nconcerning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is why there is a presidential instruction covering only six\nprovinces prioritised for forest and land fires, because the ones that\nare hard to extinguish are in Sumatra and Kalimantan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
BNPB data shows all areas of NTB fall into the moderate and high\ndrought risk categories. Four areas are at moderate risk, namely Mataram\nCity, West Lombok, North Lombok and Central Lombok, whilst the rest are\nclassified as high risk.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, NTB Governor Lalu Muhamad Iqbal admitted that two areas in\nthe province have high rates of forest degradation, namely Dompu and\nBima regencies. This forest damage also contributes to the elevated\ndisaster risk in those two areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must stop being firefighters. The problem in Dompu and Bima is\nforests that are already damaged. We will later discuss this with the\nRegents of Bima and Dompu to restore the forests there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
According to him, forest restoration in the two areas must be carried\nout urgently, because if it is not addressed promptly, any form of\nassistance provided will be exhausted along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cDisasters there are already on the calendar. So we must all carry\nout reforestation together. That is why this must be noted for us to fix\ncollectively,\u201d he said.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bnpb-urges-ntb-regional-heads-to-conduct-disaster-risk-assessments-1784894170", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }