Villagers will be trained to become cadres who are familiar with nature ..."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - As a precaution to face various natural disasters that may occur without warning, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa has expressed hope for awareness to be spread across the country and not just in villages.
"There are 279 disaster-prone points across Indonesia that are likely to face landslides, flooding or fires. Therefore, the Ministry of Social Affairs has mapped out these locations to ensure preparedness in villages (across the country)," Parawansa said in a written statement on Thursday.
Besides spreading awareness, local communities will also be trained to understand signs of natural disasters and to be mentally prepared to face them before they occur.
"Villagers will be trained to become cadres who are familiar with nature, mentally prepared and understand indications of approaching disasters, such as cracks in soil as a sign of a landslide. People who live near streams should know when water will overflow and inundate settlements," she noted.
Parawansa added that personnel of the Disaster Response Team (Tagana) are asked to arrive at these disaster-prone locations at least an hour before they occur.
"As the front-liner, Tagana has become part of natural and social disaster mitigation," the minister remarked, adding that as cadres of the team are volunteers and not paid by the state as a government apparatus, they must be managed properly.
(Uu.O001/INE/KR-BSR/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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