Cyrus Survey: Public Assesses Improvement in Sumatra Disaster Handling

Jakarta (ANTARA) - A national survey by Cyrus Network indicates that the majority of the public assesses the government’s handling of the disaster in Sumatra as having improved over the last four months, though it still requires enhancements moving forward.

Cyrus Network’s lead researcher Syahril Ilhami stated that 79.6% of respondents view the current disaster handling as better than during the initial incident in November 2025.

“If compared to the early stages of the disaster, 79.6% of respondents assess the current handling as already better. Nevertheless, 95.6% of respondents believe that disaster handling still needs to be improved in the future,” Ilhami said during an online presentation in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The survey also recorded a public satisfaction rate with disaster handling at 73.8%, reflecting an improvement in the government’s performance in responding to the disaster’s impacts in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.

However, the public still highlights several crucial aspects that need strengthening, particularly regarding the adequacy of aid for victims, inter-agency coordination, and the speed of the government’s field response.

“The adequacy of aid in meeting the needs of disaster victims remains a public concern, followed by inter-agency coordination and rapid government response. This can serve as input for future disaster handling,” Ilhami said.

Regarding information dissemination, 83.7% of respondents reported knowing about the disaster, while 16.3% did not. Direct impacts were felt by 7.3% of respondents, while 15.5% reported indirect impacts.

“Indirect impacts include economic disruptions, transportation and logistics distribution, and price fluctuations,” he explained.

The survey also measured public trust in various institutions involved in disaster handling.

The TNI received the highest appreciation at 94.4%, followed by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) at 85.8%, local government at 85.4%, PLN at 83.1%, Pertamina at 81.4%, Ministry of Communication and Digital at 81.0%, Ministry of Public Works at 80.4%, and Polri at 79.9%.

The survey was conducted from 1 to 5 April 2026, involving 1,260 respondents from 126 villages or sub-districts across 38 provinces. Respondents were Indonesian citizens aged at least 17 years or married.

Sampling was done using multistage random sampling with a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of approximately 2.82%.

The survey results provide an evaluative note for the government to strengthen the disaster handling system to be more responsive, coordinated, and oriented towards victims’ needs in the future.