Padang, W Sumatra (ANTARA) - Imposing a provincial emergency response status can make it easier for central and provincial governments to distribute aid to disaster-affected districts and cities, the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD) of West Sumatra said.

"To provide assistance from the central or provincial government to regions, there is a regulation that must be complied with. The emergency response status, which is being applied, makes the process easier," West Sumatra BPBD executive head Rudy Rinaldi explained here on Tuesday.

He said that, at the direction of the governor, the West Sumatra government is moving swiftly to help disaster-affected regions, including by implementing the emergency status.

"With the (emergency response) status, it is also easier for the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) to distribute aid through the donation scheme," he added.

With the use of resources from the central and provincial governments, it is hoped that support for disaster-affected regions can be maximized.

"If assistance from the central is still lacking, we can also propose additional assistance. These are some of the benefits of establishing provincial emergency response status," he said.

He affirmed that currently, almost all West Sumatra BPBD personnel have been deployed to support disaster handling in regions in the province, especially South Pesisir, which has been hit by floods.

"Today, our team is focusing on the distribution of clean water assistance in South Pesisir. The availability of clean water is highly needed by the community for their consumption," he said.

Earlier, head of the BNPB, Suharyanto, reported that 30 residents in West Sumatra lost their lives in the recent floods and landslides in the province.

"These disasters are quite massive because they caused 27 fatalities in South Pesisir district and three fatalities in Padang Pariaman district,” he said in Padang, West Sumatra, on Monday.

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Translator: Miko Elfisha, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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