Prabowo Says Disaster Mitigation Budget Must Be Increased<\/p>\n
Reporter<\/p>\n
September 7, 2026 | 05:11 pm<\/p>\n
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto has called for a\nsignificant increase in Indonesia\u2019s disaster mitigation budget as the\ngovernment responds to a series of natural disasters across the\ncountry.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must be ready to face situations like this at any time. This is\nalso a lesson for us and for the government I lead: the budget\nallocation for disaster mitigation must be increased significantly,\u201d\nPrabowo said Monday, September 7, 2026.<\/p>\n
Prabowo made the remarks while opening a virtual limited meeting on\ndisaster management from Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Indonesia is currently dealing with several disaster situations,\nincluding the magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Flores, East Nusa Tenggara,\nMount Anak Krakatau\u2019s volcanic activity, forest and land fires, and\nhaze.<\/p>\n
Prabowo said Indonesia\u2019s location in the Pacific Ring of Fire leaves\nthe country vulnerable to various natural disasters and requires the\ngovernment to prepare resources before emergencies occur.<\/p>\n
He instructed State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi to coordinate with\nFinance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa and National Development Planning\nMinister Rachmat Pambudy to draw up disaster mitigation plans based on\nhaving resources above minimum requirements.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore helicopters are better, more water pumps are better, and more\nfire engines are better. So we are ready before an incident occurs,\u201d\nPrabowo said.<\/p>\n
He also called for more small excavators to be made available at the\nvillage level, particularly in areas that frequently experience forest\nand land fires.<\/p>\n
Prabowo ordered the preparation of a comprehensive disaster\nmitigation master plan, including additional equipment and facilities\nfor responding to forest and land fires.<\/p>\n
Aircraft for Disaster Response<\/p>\n
Prabowo also said the government plans to use an Italian aircraft\ncarrier that is expected to join the Indonesian Navy for disaster\nresponse operations.<\/p>\n
The vessel would be modified to support helicopter and drone\noperations and could accommodate up to 10 medium-sized helicopters, each\ncapable of carrying around four to five tons of water for aerial\nfirefighting, he said.<\/p>\n
The government also plans to increase the use of aircraft for weather\nmodification operations. Prabowo asked the National Research and\nInnovation Agency (BRIN) to study which materials would be most\neffective for the technology.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to prepare for mitigation, not wait for an incident to\nhappen. We have to prepare well in advance,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The meeting was held as authorities continue to respond to the Flores\nearthquake, Anak Krakatau\u2019s volcanic activity and forest and land fires\nin several parts of Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Read: Prabowo Reviews Response to Multiple Disasters in Virtual\nMeeting<\/p>\n
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