BNPB: There Were 3,768 Disasters In 2019

JAKARTA - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) explained the recapitulation of disasters that occurred in Indonesia in 2019 and from the data they collected, there were 3,768 disasters that occurred this year. According to the Head of the Data and Communication Committee of BNPB, Agus Wibowo, the disasters that hit Indonesia the most from the beginning of 2019 to 27 December were tornadoes.

"The distribution, in total from the beginning of 2019 to 27 December 2019, has a total of 3,768 disasters, and if we see there are floods, tornadoes, landslides, and forest fires, earthquakes and tsunamis. Most are tornadoes," said Agus when presenting the 2019 Disaster Kaleidoscope. at the Graha BNPB Building, Jalan Pramuka, East Jakarta, Monday, December 30.

When presenting the kaleidoscope of disasters, Agus said, the number of disasters in 2019 has increased even though the number of victims has decreased.

"Of the total incidents, we recorded that 478 people died, 109 people were missing, 3,419 people were injured, 6.1 million people were displaced, 73,427 houses were damaged. Overall, the number of victims or material loss has decreased," said Agus.

He also said that the disasters that occurred in 2019 were due to weather, while the rest were natural disasters. Even so, said Agus, natural disasters claimed the most lives.

"Of the 3,768 disasters, 3,731 or 99 percent were hydrometeorological disasters, and 37 events or 1 percent were geological disasters. Although this geological disaster only occurred 37 events, it caused a very large impact, especially from earthquakes," he said.

The increasing number of disasters recorded by BNPB is due to the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), now providing more frequent reporting. "The trend from year to year (the number of disasters) is increasing because there are many disasters and maybe also because BPBD reports are more diligent in reporting," he said.

Karhutla Losses Reach Trillions

In addition to describing the number of disasters and victims that occurred in 2019, BNPB also explained the state's losses due to forest and land fires (karhutla). Agus said that due to this fire, the World Bank calculated that Indonesia had experienced economic losses of up to Rp75 trillion throughout the year.

"Throughout 2019 there were forest and land fires but the most dominant was during the dry season from June to November," said Agus, adding that there were 766 forest fires throughout the year and 195,332 hotspots throughout Indonesia.

The areas that experience a lot of forest fires are Central Kalimantan with a distribution of hot spots reaching 39 thousand, West Kalimantan with a distribution of 25 thousand hot spots. Meanwhile, in the Sumatra region, the most hotspots are in South Sumatra, with 25 thousand hotspots, then Jambi and Riau, each of which has 12 thousand hotspots.

Reflecting on the presentation delivered, Agus said that BNPB would continue to strive to anticipate potential disaster events in 2020 by coordinating and synergizing with related agencies for disaster management, including forest and land fires. Moreover, the potential for disaster in the coming year is expected to remain high.

"In 2020, the potential for disaster is predicted to remain high based on information from experts and official government institutions. Therefore, efforts are needed to anticipate disaster events," he concluded.