BNPB Accelerates Recovery from Four Disasters: Sumatra Floods to Mount Anak Krakatau
The Head of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Lieutenant General Suharyanto, has said the agency is currently focused on accelerating recovery in areas affected by four disasters: the East Nusa Tenggara earthquake, the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau, forest and land fires (karhutla), and the flash floods in Sumatra.
Regarding the eruption of Mount Anak Krakatau, Suharyanto said BNPB has dispatched an advance team to conduct direct monitoring in the field. Based on data collection, no fatalities have so far been reported as a result of the eruption.
He said that to date, neither the affected district nor provincial governments have declared a state of emergency. However, he noted that the absence of a regional emergency status does not hamper the delivery of assistance.
“We are also communicating minute by minute with the head of BMKG, as well as receiving direct instructions from the President,” Suharyanto said in his statement on Tuesday (8/9).
Suharyanto explained that BNPB has prepared a Hybrid Weather Modification Operation (OMC) to help dissolve the volcanic ash.
The Hybrid OMC uses two techniques. When clouds are available, rain stimulation is carried out; when there are no clouds, personnel disperse water mist to break down and bind ash particles and hazardous pollutants.
“It is hoped that the weather modification operation, conducted from today until tonight, can help accelerate the dissipation of volcanic ash,” he said.
Suharyanto said the Geological Agency has also confirmed that, based on the current morphological evaluation, the body of Mount Anak Krakatau is not at risk of collapsing on a scale that could trigger a tsunami like the one in 2018.
Meanwhile, for the earthquake response in East Nusa Tenggara, BNPB is focusing on verifying data on damaged houses. Based on provisional data, 98,986 houses have been recorded as damaged to varying degrees.
Suharyanto explained that households with lightly damaged homes will receive a stimulant aid of Rp15 million, whilst those with moderately damaged homes will receive Rp30 million. For severely damaged homes, temporary housing will be built or a Housing Waiting Fund will be provided before a new type-36 house is constructed.
“We are also setting up emergency tents as temporary schools so that no children miss out on their education,” he said.
As for the forest and land fires, Suharyanto acknowledged that these remain a major challenge. As of 6 September, the total burnt land across six priority provinces reached 72,009.10 hectares, of which 939.45 hectares are still burning.
The breakdown is as follows: West Kalimantan, 97.8 hectares; Riau, 283.35 hectares; South Kalimantan, 116.3 hectares; Central Kalimantan, 91.3 hectares; South Sumatra, 341.7 hectares; and Jambi, 9 hectares.
“The main obstacles are the character of the land, access, weather, and the availability of water sources,” Suharyanto said.
He explained that on peatland, fire can persist beneath the surface, so personnel must carry out cooling and further monitoring.
“In several locations, land access is also difficult, requiring water bombing support. Add to that the hot, dry conditions and winds that can reignite fire spots. So the process is indeed not always finished once the fire is initially extinguished,” he said.
Furthermore, Suharyanto said the agency is continuing to pursue its recovery targets following the flash floods that struck Aceh and Sumatra last year.
As of 6 September, progress on transferring stimulant aid for moderately and lightly damaged houses in three provinces — Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra — has reached Rp703,017,000,000.
As for the construction of permanent housing (huntap), of the 27,809 units proposed, 14,897 units have been reviewed and are ready to be built. A total of 1,055 huntap units are currently under construction, with 841 units completed and 214 units in progress.
“We continue to urge local governments to speed up the verification and disbursement process so that residents can immediately complete repairs to their homes,” said Suharyanto.
“We aim for all reviewed huntap units to be built as soon as possible. Coordination with the Ministry of Public Works and Housing and local governments continues to be strengthened,” he added.