"We continue to improve early warning programs for tsunami, then for other disasters," BNPB Head Suharyanto said in a statement here on Sunday.
In 2023, the BNPB, together with relevant ministries and government agencies, had reduced the rate of forest and land fires thanks to faster preventive efforts and all parties' collaboration.
During the 2015 El Nino, wildfires occurred on some 2.6 million hectares of forest and land while in 2016, the land and forest fires ravaged 1.6 million hectares of land and in 2023 only ravaged 1.1 million hectares of land, he said.
According to him, even though the areas of forest and land that were caught fire were quite large, no haze was detected crossing beyond the borders of neighboring countries.
"The key is collaboration and prevention. We carried out these tasks faster; in fact, the El Nino in 2023 was more severe than that of 2019, but the impact in 2019 was bigger. The disaster response equipment and expenses used for the 2013 disaster was relatively smaller than those of 2019," he explained.
He further said that the challenges in the future will be hard. At the beginning of 2024, floods hit several regions in Indonesia.
Suharyanto has asked the BNPB personnel to remain united and arrive at disaster zones more quickly.
The BNPB is currently on alert for Mount Lewotobi Laki-laki in Flores District, East Nusa Tenggara, as the volcano has entered the IV level or alert level status.
"Six thousand displaced residents are taking refuge there," he said, adding that he vows to visit the disaster zone as the BNPB's deputy VI had been there earlier.
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Translator: Sugiharto Purnama, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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