Head of the Pekalongan City Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Saminta, said here on Thursday that the agency is planning to educate people on disaster-responsive villages in early 2022 so that they can better understand disaster management.
"Later on, in every village, there will be people with the spirit of volunteering who will be able to coordinate and mobilize the community to move quickly when disasters occur, such as floods and tidal waves," he added.
The agency will also conduct non-physical activities through the program to prepare the public for floods and tidal waves, in addition to physical activities or infrastructure development, he informed.
So far, the agency has received incident reports from members of the public, but the information is often incomplete because people only send pictures without elaborating on locations, Saminta said.
"Therefore, we hope that with the existence of a (disaster) responsive village, incidents reported or informed will be complete so that the BPBD can quickly follow up or coordinate with other agencies," he remarked.
He also shed light on the condition in Pekalongan city, which is still flooded. The water level is still at 20 to 40 centimeters, so some residents have been evacuated, he disclosed.
"The flood-hit Clumprit and Randujajar with the number of refugees reached 164," Saminta added.
He said the agency is continuously tracking information from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency, which has predicted peak rainfall in December 2021.
"In addition, we have also synchronized the preparedness to anticipate floods and tidal waves in the rainy season by involving other agencies, such as the P2KB Social Service, Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency, Public Works and Spatial Management Office, sub-district heads, and village heads," he said.
Meanwhile, the head of the Pekalongan City Social, Population Control and Family Planning Office, Yos Rosidi, said the office will establish an integrated post at the sub-district level for handling disaster victims.
"Later on, we will involve people from the BPBD, the Indonesian Military, the Indonesian Police, the Indonesian Red Cross, and volunteers. We will focus more on food, logistics, public kitchens, and evacuation points," Rosidi added.
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Translator: Kutnadi, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Sri Haryati
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
