Head of the disaster data, information, and communication center of BNPB, Abdul Muhari, stated on Monday that his side is currently conducting scientific-based studies with domestic experts in innovation technology, climate, and geology.
This study aims to determine the type of landslide early warning mechanism that is accurate, fast, integrated, and easily accessed by the public, Muhari remarked.
"We are still reviewing the best option for this mechanism," he said.
So far, three mechanisms can be used for this early warning system. One such is an early warning system based on time-series satellite imagery to monitor changes in land use and the movement of landslide crowns to produce early warnings for communities at high risk.
The other mechanism is a sensor-based early warning, with sensor installed in every landslide-prone area to monitor ground movement, rainfall, and other parameters. This data will be processed to produce early warnings for the community, he explained.
Lastly, a community-based warning system that involves the community in the process of monitoring and reporting early signs of landslides, Muhari remarked.
He stated that this project is the result of a follow-up on Indonesian researchers' success in developing a similar disaster system in 35 regions a decade ago. However, the system only has a local capacity and coverage area for more than 200 villages.
"Because the system is still very local, so far, we only rely on weather forecast information systems that are not specific to landslides," Muhari stated.
He then emphasized that all Indonesian people need information on early landslide warnings, as important as the national earthquake and tsunami warnings, which were earlier developed to anticipate the magnitude of the damage caused and loss of life.
Based on data gathered by BNPB during the January-March 2024 period, several flood disasters had struck followed by landslides that affected more than hundreds of thousands of residents, with tens of thousands of their houses and public facilities damaged.
Wet hydrometeorological disasters also claimed lives and to this day the bodies of the victims are still declared missing. For instance, three people each on the West Sumatra south coast; in Sugapa, Papua; and in Cipongkor, West Java, went missing as a result of landslides.
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Translator: M. Riezko Bima, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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