"The potential threat of natural, social, and non-natural disasters is the reason why the Yogyakarta regional government needs to ready resources to increase alertness and vigilance," Deputy Governor of Yogyakarta, KGPAA Paku Alam X, said here on Wednesday.
Disaster-safe educational units are needed considering that almost all parts of Indonesia, including Yogyakarta, are prone to disasters, he added.
According to him, preparedness and vigilance against disasters need to be improved during, before, and after disasters, starting with schools and madrasas.
The disaster preparedness teams of schools and madrasahs are instruments that must be present for realizing resilient and disaster-safe schools, he said.
"The school's disaster preparedness team is a representative of the school community who has received training in disaster risk reduction. This team is tasked with disseminating disaster-aware cultural practices in schools," the deputy governor added.
Meanwhile, acting chief of the Yogyakarta Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD), Biwara Yuswantana, said that a disaster-aware culture needs to be introduced to children from an early age as useful knowledge for the future.
This effort follows the government policy which has established the SPAB program through the Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Ministry, he added.
According to Yuswantana, 2,906 schools or madrasas in Yogyakarta have been listed to be located in disaster-prone areas.
It is necessary to train the school community, including in recognizing disaster threats, understanding emergency first aid, drawing up contingency plans, and integrating disaster risk reduction knowledge into learning materials.
"It is necessary to conduct a simulation of disaster to understand a correct evacuation in case a disaster occurs," he said.
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Translator: Luqman H, Kenzu
Editor: Suharto
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