Pratikno: Government Full Team Handling NTT Earthquake, Forms National Post

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture (PMK) Pratikno stated that the government is taking swift and integrated steps to mitigate the earthquake disaster in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT). According to him, the central government has deployed a full team directly to the disaster location.

Pratikno said that synergy and synchronisation across all levels of government are important to ensure the recovery process proceeds quickly and accurately.

“The central government is truly present here as a full team. Each of us is asking what problems exist, what has been done, what will be done, and so on. So, this synchronisation is very important because the central government’s resources for emergency response and also rehabilitation and reconstruction are very large,” he said after a coordination meeting in West Manggarai on Sunday (16/8/2026).

Pratikno expressed his deepest condolences to the disaster victims. He also called on all levels of society to continue working in synergy with the government to accelerate emergency response handling and support the post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction process.

“We express our deepest condolences to the victims, and we ask all levels of society to continue working in synergy with regional governments and the central government, to immediately take swift action in the emergency response and to support rehabilitation and reconstruction as quickly as possible,” he said.

During the emergency response phase, the government is prioritising the rescue and recovery of affected residents and areas. The government is also working to restore key infrastructure so that it can function again in the shortest possible time.

“In this emergency response phase, the main priority is of course to rescue the affected residents, then to restore damaged infrastructure so that it becomes functional again as soon as possible, whether that is roads, bridges, hospitals, electricity, and also internet networks and so on, to recover them in the shortest possible time,” he said.

Furthermore, Pratikno said the government is committed to carrying out sustainable recovery through the rebuilding of affected areas. In addition, the government will strengthen the resilience of regional governments and communities in facing disasters.

“Disasters cannot be completely avoided, but we must build resilient regional governments, resilient communities, resilient infrastructure, and also resilient communities in facing disasters,” he said.

Pratikno also confirmed integrated handling involving a number of elements. The government has established an integrated disaster post in the affected areas and is accelerating the rehabilitation and reconstruction of key infrastructure.

“As was mentioned earlier, a post will be established immediately. On this second day, a post has already been formed; the central government has a post, a national post. Later the Head of BNPB will convey that logistical assistance from Jakarta and from other regions will be consolidated at Halim and sent here,” explained Minister Pratikno.