DPR: Disaster Literacy Must Be Sustained in Disaster-Prone Areas

Disaster literacy, preparedness and vigilance should be provided by local governments to people living in disaster-prone areas. The priority must be protecting lives and enabling residents to recognise natural warning signs of an impending disaster.

Cianjur (ANTARA) — A member of Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) says disaster literacy must be strengthened continuously among the public, particularly in Cianjur regency, West Java, which is highly vulnerable to disasters.

Isfhan Taufik Munggaran, a member of Commission VIII of the DPR, said in Cianjur on Tuesday that the area faces a high risk of various natural disasters, including earthquakes, landslides and ground movement, from northern to southern Cianjur.

He said public preparedness and vigilance needed to be improved, especially during the transition from the dry to the rainy season, which can trigger natural disasters. Protecting the lives of residents and their families should be the priority.

“Local governments should provide disaster literacy, preparedness and vigilance to people living in disaster-prone areas, prioritising the protection of life and the ability to read natural signs that a disaster may occur,” he said.

He said Commission VIII served as a link between the public and the government, particularly in ensuring that policies, programmes and the use of state funds met public needs and complied with legislation.

The commission works with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the Hajj Financial Management Agency (BPKH), the National Alms Agency (Baznas), the Indonesian Waqf Board (BWI) and the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI).

Over the past two years, he said, he had often visited disaster-affected areas in Cianjur. Many affected residents hoped to receive rebuilding and relocation assistance from the central government soon.

“On this occasion, I accompanied the Cianjur regent to meet the head of BNPB to establish when assistance for residents affected by the 2024 ground movement and landslides could be delivered,” he said.

For the past two years, many residents, particularly in southern Cianjur, have continued living in homes at risk of collapse or in temporary shelters they built themselves, after their houses were severely damaged.