Experts advises TV usage in flood warning system<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The city administration has been advised to step up its
\ninformation campaign on minute-by-minute progress on flooding, in
\nthe absence of a proper early warning system.<\/p>\n
Heru Sri Naryanto, an expert on disaster mitigation, said on
\nMonday that the administration had to supply radio and television
\nstations with all the necessary information as such media
\ndirectly reached the public.<\/p>\n
\"The administration must supply as much information about
\nflooding as possible to those stations; it must not wait until
\nreporters ask for information,\" said Heru, from the Agency for
\nAssessment and Application of Technology (BPPT).<\/p>\n
For years the city has failed to establish a proper early
\nwarning system, saying that it now needs Rp 200 billion (about
\nUS$ 23.5 million) to set up a crisis center. This year's city
\nbudget currently allocates only Rp 15 billion to start the
\ncenter.<\/p>\n
Heru cited the important role of several radio stations in
\ndelivering information during the huge floods in Jakarta in early
\n2002 that caused the death of at least 30 people and forced more
\nthan 300,000 to flee their homes.<\/p>\n
The radio stations were also crucial in supplying information
\nto those who wanted to distribute aid to the victims.<\/p>\n
Heru said formal cooperation with several electronic media
\nwould ensure that the administration's information reached the
\npublic.<\/p>\n
A large city like Jakarta should have a reliable crisis center
\nthat can become an information center for any disasters in the
\ncity, including the annual floods, he added.<\/p>\n
He said that a good crisis center would be equipped with a
\ndatabase on various matters, including flood-prone areas,
\npopulation levels, vulnerable properties and all equipment needed
\nduring an emergency.<\/p>\n
Professional crisis center management, he said, would have
\nspecified job descriptions, including for those in charge of the
\nearly warning system.<\/p>\n
\"In such a center, who does what, when and where would be
\nclear, to avoid people blaming one another,\" Heru added.<\/p>\n
He said his office drafted a master plan on a crisis center
\nfor the city administration in 2001, but its implementation was
\nvery slow and was still in the very early stages.<\/p>\n
With an overall budget of over Rp 12 trillion this year, he
\nsaid the city could establish a crisis center online to all
\nrelevant officials from the governor to subdistrict heads.<\/p>",
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