"We held a meeting with Vice President Boediono on Wednesday night. He gave the assurance that the budget to build tsunami evacuee shelters had been approved," BNPB Chief Secretary Fatchul Hadi said.
Padang, W Sumatra (ANTARA News) - The government has approved budget allocations for the construction of tsunami evacuee shelters in West Sumatra`s tsunami-prone areas, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Board (BNPB).

"We held a meeting with Vice President Boediono on Wednesday night. He gave the assurance that the budget to build tsunami evacuee shelters had been approved," BNPB Chief Secretary Fatchul Hadi said after opening a conference on finalizing the scenario and materials of tsunami drill here on Thursday.

The West Sumatra provincial government has set itself the target of building 20 tsunami evacuee shelters in 2013. They are part of 300 shelters the local government plans to build in the province`s six coastal districts and municipilitas. The municipalities are Padang and Pariaman and the districts are Pesisir Selatan, Padang Pariaman, Agam, Pasaman Barat.

The construction of tsunami evacuee shelters is part of a strategic program to mitigate disaster risks. The program is incorporated to the Tsunami Master Plan.

The disaster risk mitigation program focuses not only on physical activities but also nob-physical activities including the empowerment and capacity building of local people and volunteers, he said.

"The people living in tsunami-prone areas will be gradually empowered," he said.

A number of provinces including West Sumatra had carried out programs aimed at improving the capacity of the people living in tsunami-prone areas, he said.

To encourage the people to increase their capacity to the maximum extent possible the program will be carried out in stages through short-, medium and long-term plans, he said.

Secretary of the West Sumatra provincial government Ali Asmar meanwhile said an estimated 900 thousand people now live in the province`s six tsunami-prone areas. If one shelter can accommodate 63 thousand people the province will need around 300 shelters.

The state budget-funded vertical evacuee shelters will also be equipped with places of worship, educational facilities and other public utilities, he said.

West Sumatra is among the Indonesian provinces which are at the highest risk of tsunami.

A tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck the province`s Mentawai Islands off the western coast of Sumatra on October 25, 2010.

A total of 517 houses were destroyed and swept away by the tsunami, while 204 others had minor damages, according to data from the Mentawai earthquake and tsunami information services at the Sikakap Selatan district administration in the Mentawai Islands.

More than 400 people were killed and some 350 others were injured in the tsunami.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2013