President Orders Rapid Evacuation of Affected Residents in Bitung and Ternate

JAKARTA - President Prabowo Subianto immediately responded to the events in North Sulawesi and North Maluku. Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said that the President had received reports from the Head of BNPB on the development of the situation in North Sulawesi and North Maluku, especially in Bitung City, Ternate City, and Batang Dua Island.

"The President received a report from the Head of BNPB regarding the incident in North Sulawesi and North Maluku Provinces, especially in Bitung City and Ternate City as well as Batang Dua Island," Teddy said in a written statement, Thursday, April 2.

According to Teddy, the BNPB regional rapid response team together with the TNI-Polri and local government officials have immediately moved to the affected location to carry out checks and evacuations.

He also conveyed that the Head of BNPB had appealed to residents not to return to activities in affected buildings. The appeal was made to avoid risks that could arise after the incident.

Teddy said, through the Head of BNPB, the President had ordered all officers and BNPB teams to carry out the evacuation process for affected residents as quickly as possible. Today, the Head of BNPB is scheduled to arrive in North Sulawesi, while other teams are moving to North Maluku.

"Through the Ka BNPB, the President has immediately ordered all BNPB officers and teams to evacuate the affected residents as soon as possible," said Teddy.

In addition to deploying teams, the central government has also opened coordination with the local government. Teddy said that the Governor of North Maluku Sherly Tjoanda and the Governor of North Sulawesi Yulius Selvanus had been contacted to speed up handling in the field.