“Whenever they need an additional budget, we are ready to disburse it,” Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said on Monday evening.
He noted that BNPB still has enough funds to cover ongoing operations in North Sumatra, West Sumatra, and Aceh. The agency currently holds more than Rp500 billion (about US$30.1 million) in available reserves.
Sadewa acknowledged that further funding may be required, given the scale of the disaster across the three provinces. He said the government has set aside state budget allocations for emergency and disaster response, which can be released quickly.
Promising swift disbursement, he urged BNPB not to hesitate in requesting additional support when needed. The size of any supplementary funding will depend on BNPB’s requirements and official assessments.
He added that the state budget can also cover recovery and rehabilitation programs, as well as social protection for affected residents.
According to BNPB, the death toll across the three provinces reached 631 as of Tuesday, with 472 people missing and more than 2,600 injured.
President Prabowo Subianto visited several affected areas on Monday and said aid would be delivered by air to locations inaccessible by land. The government has also begun weather modification operations to help reduce rainfall in the region.
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Translator: Uyu Liman, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Anton Santoso
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