We should not wait for a disaster to occur. It is crucial that we take preparatory steps..
Jakarta (ANTARA) – President Prabowo Subianto has called for a substantial increase in the disaster mitigation budget to enable optimal preventive and responsive measures as Indonesia continues to face high disaster risks due to its geography.
“We must always be ready to face such a situation. We are learning from it. In my administration, budget allocations for disaster mitigation must be substantially raised,” he remarked, alluding to the ongoing response to a deadly earthquake as well as widespread wildfires and volcanic eruptions.
Prabowo delivered the remarks while opening a limited meeting on disaster mitigation via video conference from the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Monday.
He underscored that Indonesia is prone to natural disasters due to its location within the Pacific Ring of Fire, noting that this condition demands additional efforts from the government to ensure public health and safety.
The president then urged State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi to coordinate with Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa and National Development Planning Minister Rachmat Pambudy to devise a disaster mitigation master plan, with an emphasis on sufficient human resources and assets.
In that regard, he underlined the need to prepare more helicopters, water pumps, and fire containment equipment to allow for immediate and adequate responses.
The head of state also stressed the importance of providing rural areas with more small-sized excavators, especially those grappling with recurring forest fires.
Furthermore, he highlighted plans to use Indonesia’s first aircraft carrier, the Giuseppe Garibaldi, to support helicopter and drone operations. Currently en route from Italy to Indonesia for a handover ceremony, the vessel will be modified to carry 10 medium-class helicopters, each capable of delivering four to five tons of water for wildfire suppression.
The government also intends to deploy additional aircraft to intensify weather modification operations, with the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) tasked with identifying the most effective materials to support such operations.
“We should not wait for a disaster to occur. It is crucial that we take preparatory steps well in advance,” Prabowo stated.
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Translator: F. Rochman, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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