Govt response to disasters

Govt response to disasters

From Koran Tempo

The government provides equal treatment to disaster-stricken
regions in Indonesia. In Aceh, the central government has
directly handled relief in the tsunami-devastated region because
all administrative levels in Aceh were paralyzed.

In the recent earthquake in Nias, relief efforts are being
handled by the Nias regency administration, and the North Sumatra
provincial governor is in charge of controlling the situation.

Three measures are involved in response to the Nias tremor:
evacuating quake victims, supplying food and providing medical
treatment. Evacuation has been conducted despite initial
difficulties due to limited equipment. Food for refugees is
available but its distribution is not smooth.

The government has sent five more boats to transport food,
with the assistance of two helicopters from Australia. For
medical treatment, medicine has been distributed and doctors
assigned, with field hospitals ready to serve patients. Tents
also have been provided for those rendered homeless and the
government will supply materials for rebuilding homes.

The process of evacuation in the urban areas of Nias will
speed up with the arrival 15 units of heavy equipment. After the
completion of the evacuation, Nias will be rebuilt in the same
way as Aceh.

RUSLAN SIREGAR
Bogor, West Java