Head of BNPB: No more refugees in West Sumatra living in tents

Tanah Datar Regency — The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) has confirmed that there are no longer any refugees or disaster-affected victims from floods and landslides in West Sumatra (Sumbar) who are still living in refugee tents. ‘Specifically in West Sumatra, we can confirm there are no more refugees living in tents. The numbers still high are in Aceh Province and some in North Sumatra,’ BNPB Head Suharyanto said in Tanah Datar on Wednesday. Generally, the central government, under the coordination of the Minister for Human Development and Culture (Menko PMK) and the Minister of Home Affairs (Mendagri), is again carrying out aid for houses damaged lightly and moderately by floods and landslides. ‘This is the second phase. For the first phase, aid had been provided to 25 regencies and cities. Today, simultaneously, there are 19 regencies and cities in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra,’ Suharyanto said. He emphasised that this is a government commitment or responsibility that disaster-affected communities whose homes are lightly or moderately damaged will soon receive assistance. For those severely damaged, Suharyanto said most people have also been relocated to temporary housing (huntara), and some are living with relatives or receiving evacuation funds. Meanwhile, Tanah Datar Regent Eka Putra said that although the area experienced massive disaster impacts, there were no fatalities. This is attributed to the success of the Disaster-Resilient Village Programme (Destana) that has been implemented in the area. ‘As soon as we received information from BMKG, the local government immediately went to the field. Alhamdulillah, the disaster-resilient programme has increased the community’s willingness to evacuate,’ said Regent Eka Putra.