Eighty-five of the 360 volunteers are of "supervisor level" with high skills in natural disaster evacuation, Head of the Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency in Lebak District Kaprawi said here on Thursday.
All volunteers have attended training programs for natural disaster evacuation techniques and are equipped with evacuation tools, such as inflatable boats, life jackets, tents, and operational vehicles.
Some 42 villages in Lebak District, including Rankasbitung, Cibadak, Cimarga, Cileles, Muncang, Cipanas, Cirinten, Bojongmanik, and Banjarsari are vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods, landslides, and whirlwinds.
"We have asked villagers in these areas to stay alert so that any fatality can be averted. We also expect them to take refuge to safer places in the event of heavy rainfall and flooding at night," Kaprawi noted.
A number of volunteers of the Social Affairs Ministrys Disaster Response Teams (Tagana) in Lebak District have also been on alert. "We have set up a disaster command post to provide support services to citizens," said Agus, a Tagana volunteer.
Some parts of Indonesia have suffered natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, floods, landslides, and haze.
In Aceh Province, for instance, floods and landslides have displaced a lot of people. In response to this catastrophe, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency has distributed humanitarian aids worth Rp1.4 billion to the victims of floods and landslides in seven districts.
EDITED BY INE
(SDP-92/KR-BSR/O001).
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
