Head of BNPB's Disaster Data, Information, and Communication Center, Abdul Muhari, stated here on Tuesday that hydrometeorological disasters, such as landslides, were the predominant type of calamity, constituting approximately 41.60 percent of the 35 disasters documented during the past week.
The BNPB reported that the disaster conditions were affected by the rainy season, with rainfall increasing by up to 20 percent from normal due to being triggered by several atmospheric phenomena and reinforced by tropical cyclones.
The floods and landslides that hit several areas in Java on December 2–9, such as Sukabumi, Cianjur, Pandeglang, and Bandung, are examples of the large impact of atmospheric phenomena and tropical cyclones.
To this end, he noted that village-affiliated non-commissioned officers (Babinsa) of the National Defense Forces (TNI), the National Police's (Polri's) security and public order officers (Bhabinkamtibnas), and parties from the neighborhood units can monitor the water levels.
"This information is important because even only several minutes (earlier), it can significantly save the (lives of) local residents," he remarked.
He admitted that not all regions in Indonesia have early warning information system equipment that specifically addresses the potential for floods, landslides, extreme weather, and strong winds or whirlwinds.
The flood early warning equipment from BNPB is only available in several regions, such as the districts of Agam and Tanah Datar and Padang Panjang city in West Sumatra, to anticipate the potential danger of floods triggered by cold lava flow from Mount Marapi.
Despite challenges, the BNPB assessed that the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) continues to provide timely and precise weather forecasts and related natural phenomenon information, maintaining its reliability.
"The point is that it is important to continue to follow the up-to-date information on the developments of weather conditions that is provided every day or even every three hours," Muhari emphasized.
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Translator: M Riezko, Raka Adji
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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