National Disaster Management Needs A Strategic Role Of Komdigi

JAKARTA Head of the AI-ITB National Policy Study Division, Teuku Gandawan Xasir, encourages the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) to take a strategic role in the national disaster management system, especially in ensuring the continuity of communication, data, and information during disasters.

According to him, although the main role of disaster management is carried out by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), the success of handling in the field is very dependent on the reliability of the communication and data system which is the scope of Komdigi's duties.

"When the telecommunications network goes out, the environmental sensor is cut off, the population data is not updated, the command center does not receive field reports and public information is confusing, so no matter how well the BNPB readiness will still be hampered," said Teuku in a written statement, Sunday, December 7.

He stated that Komdigi does not need to take over the authority of BNPB, but must become a digital backbone so that the national disaster ecosystem can work. This role includes the smoothness of information systems, communication networks, real-time data, and inter-institutional digital interoperability.

Teuku gave an example, the United States has practiced this through the National Incident Management System (NIMS), the Incident Command System (ICS), and the Emergency Support Function (ESF) which ensures that information continues to run in an emergency.

Telecommunication operators are required to provide cell on wheels, priority access for emergency officers, satellite backups, cross-institutional radio interoperability, and emergency data networks that stand in a matter of minutes.

The same thing is applied in Japan, as the country that experiences the most major disasters on a large scale.

The country of the Rising Sun understands that a tsunami wave of dozens of meters will not provide a second chance so they ensure an integrated backup communication system, seismic sensors and tsunamis, a national radio network that remains alive during power outages, and standardization of cross-government information procedures.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, there are still frequent affected areas that have lost access to communication for 24 to 72 hours.

As a result, data on victims of confusion, slow logistics distribution, and coordination between institutions are not optimal.

"When communication went down, the state went down. When the village could not report, the state could not respond," added Teuku.

Therefore, Komdigi is required to become a strategic actor guaranteeing that Indonesia has never lost information in disaster situations, including immediately building a national architecture of communication and disaster data, which includes disaster risk-based connectivity maps, integrated data platforms across ministries, national emergency communication protocols, and operator obligations to provide fast-moving backup networks.

"Reformation of the disaster communication system is not just a discourse, but an urgent need. Repeated disaster experiences should be a lesson that communication and data are the main part of saving. Komdigi must ensure that the state is never blind when a disaster occurs," concluded Teuku.