“Tonight we are setting up a national command post in North Tapanuli, which we plan to use as an air logistics hub,” Safrizal Zakaria Ali, Director General for Regional Administration at the ministry, said in a statement on Thursday night.
Safrizal said intensive coordination is underway to ensure emergency operations run effectively, with ministry teams already on the ground working with the district head and local security forces.
A field team reached the first landslide site late on Wednesday (Nov. 26), while BNPB on Thursday morning deployed a caravan aircraft to survey the damage and send supplies to Sibolga and Central Tapanuli.
He added that a logistics helicopter was only able to land at around 4 p.m. Thursday, meaning aid airlifts would begin on Friday.
“Teams from the local public works office and the regional disaster mitigation agency (BPBD) are trying to reopen the roads, but repeated landslides triggered by heavy rain continue to block access,” he said.
Floods and landslides on Monday left eight people dead and damaged dozens of homes, with joint teams from the military (TNI), police (Polri), BPBD and local authorities conducting evacuations through Tuesday afternoon.
The ministry earlier issued a circular on Nov. 18 instructing heightened preparedness for hydrometeorological disasters. It followed up with a nationwide coordination meeting on Nov. 21 involving regional disaster mitigation agencies, civil service police units and fire and rescue offices from across Indonesia.
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Translator: Fianda Sjofjan Rassat, Martha Herlinawati Simanjun
Editor: Arie Novarina
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