"We are already on alert, including other disaster elements. We also urge them to increase preparedness through disaster risk reduction forums in Yogyakarta," Operations Control Center (Pusdalops) Manager of Yogyakarta BPBD Lilik Andi Aryanto stated in Yogyakarta on Wednesday.
Aryanto remarked that the increase in preparedness was in response to a circular letter from Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengku Buwono X Number 360/20913 following information from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) regarding the potential for extreme weather from December 25, 2022, to January 1, 2023.
Aryanto stated that as many as 32 members of the Rapid Reaction Team (TRC) and 25 members of the Yogyakarta BPBD Pusdalops were on standby for 24 hours.
Communities in all disaster-resilient villages in Yogyakarta will also conduct similar preparedness, he added.
Yogyakarta BPBD TRC personnel, through posts spread across five districts and cities had intensified monitoring in several areas potentially affected by disasters, especially floods and landslides, he noted.
Aryanto remarked that from the start until the end of 2022, floods and landslides were dominant disasters that had occurred in the province.
"Gunungkidul and Kulon Progo districts are prone to landslide followed by floods in Bantul and Gunungkidul some time ago," he remarked.
As an effort to anticipate the impact of damage after the disaster occurs, the Yogyakarta BPBD has also coordinated with the Yogyakarta Public Works, Public Housing, and Energy and Mineral Resources Service (PUP-ESDM), he remarked.
"Especially for potential damage to provincial roads, the Public Works Service is ready to be contacted 24 hours," he stated.
Aryanto appealed to the public, especially tourists vacationing in Yogyakarta, to not panic and to actively monitor the latest information from BMKG.
"If it rains heavily, you should avoid river areas and cliffs," he stressed.
In addition, he also urged tourists visiting the south coast to avoid bathing on the beach in anticipation of high waves.
"We urge people, who go to the beach, to obey the officers' advice," he remarked.
Earlier, the BMKG forecast extreme weather conditions, such as heavy rains, strong winds accompanied by lightning and high waves in some parts of Indonesia in late 2022 to early 2023.
Extreme weather conditions during this period are forecast to occur in parts of the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Lombok, Nusa Tenggara, Sulawesi, and Papua.
The BMKG also reminded tourists going to the south coast of West Java, Central Java, and Yogyakarta to be aware of the potential for high waves in the sea south of West Java to Yogyakarta.
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Translator: Luqman Hakim, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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