The map, which will chart areas that are vulnerable to flooding, landslides, and extreme weather, will be distributed to regional governments and roadtrippers, BNPB head Lt. General Suharyanto informed.
Speaking at a ministerial meeting here, he said that the map will hopefully help holidaymakers remain alert for any disaster risk in the places they pass through or visit.
The provision of the guide maps is part of the agency's disaster preparedness and mitigation-related efforts to reduce the impacts of natural disasters, Suharyanto added.
In addition, the BNPB has appealed to all regional governments to set up command posts, prepare operational planning, and provide disaster response gear, he informed.
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To anticipate the potential for hydrometeorological disasters until February 2024, he said the agency has asked all regional disaster and mitigation agencies in the country to be well-prepared and stay alert.
The regions that need to be given special attention owing to their vulnerability to natural disasters include Lampung, Bali, and all provinces in Java, he added.
ANTARA reported earlier that with about 17 thousand islands scattered across the Indian-Pacific Ocean, the world's largest archipelagic country, Indonesia, is like a "supermarket for natural disasters."
The country has four disaster clusters: geology and volcanology (volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis), hydrometeorology I (forest fires and drought), hydrometeorology II (flash floods, landslides, and coastal abrasion), and non-natural disasters (waste, epidemics, and technological failures).
BNPB reported that between January 1 and December 19, 2021, for instance, a total of 2,931 disasters displaced 8.26 million people in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian province of Aceh experienced the deadliest-ever earthquake, which was followed by a tsunami, on December 26, 2004. The catastrophe, which also affected certain coastal areas in countries such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India, reportedly left at least 230 thousand people dead.
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Translator: Asep F, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Jafar M Sidik
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