In the future, we will create concepts and trainings to prepare our staff at the level of sub-district in West Papua.
Manokwari, West Papua (ANTARA) - Acting Governor of West Papua Paulus Waterpauw has underlined the need for conducting pre-disaster anticipatory actions without delay to prepare against climate change-driven disasters and minimize losses.

"We were reminded by the President to be ready and wary," he told West Papua state civil apparatuses (ASNs) here on Tuesday.

In addition to pre-disaster actions, emergency response as well as post-disaster steps should also be prepared, he said.

According to Waterpauw, everyone has been focusing on the emergency response stage, which kicks in after a disaster has occurred.

This is despite the fact that imparting training and disseminating information to the people is necessary so they that do not make mistakes when confronted with a disaster.

While natural disasters cannot be predicted, he expects the public to know what needs to be done when they strike, he said.

"In the future, we will create concepts and trainings to prepare our staff at the level of sub-district in West Papua," Waterpauw informed.

The governor said that there was an 81 percent increase in the frequency of natural disasters in Indonesia in 2022.

In 2022, as many as 3,544 natural disasters were recorded in the country compared to 1,945 in 2010.

People should be grateful that the earthquake in West Papua was not like the one in Jayapura, but such disasters still need to be anticipated, he said.

"In Jayapura, right now, there are dozens, even hundreds of earthquakes that have occurred," he highlighted.

Since the start of 2023, West Papua province has recorded light earthquakes twice. However, several regions, such as Manokwari and South Manokwari, once experienced an extraordinary earthquake in 2009.

"The effects of climate change are not just earthquakes and floods, landslides also occurred in a number of regions in our country," Waterpauw noted.

"This is certainly more frightening than the pandemic that we have just overcome," he added.

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Translator: Tri Adi Santoso, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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