thejakartapost.com 14 Nov 15;
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has allocated Rp 150 billion (US $11 million) for flood and landslide prevention and mitigation efforts in the upcoming rainy season.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, BNPB spokesman, said on Friday that the funding came from the Rp 2.5 trillion allocated in the 2015 budget of the agency for all kinds of disasters.
He said the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) had predicted that the rainy season would arrive in most of areas of Indonesia in December and would peak in January. Floods and landslides are the disasters most likely to occur during the rainy season.
"The anticipation of disasters must be well prepared because disasters are currently seen as ad hoc [events]. People only focus on the emergency response," he said in a press statement.
Besides allocating funds, the measures also include a coordinating meeting with all ministries, institutions and regional heads to discuss disaster management, contigencies, training and technical issues.
Sutopo said disasters related to the rainy season had a major impact on society. (rin)
