Commemoration Of The 18th Anniversary Of The Aceh Earthquake And Tsunami, Experts On The Value Of Citizens' Disaster Mitigation Sciences Are Still Minimized

The Photo Archive - Residents walked near a tsunami warning sign on the tourist beach of Kampung Jawa, Banda Aceh, Aceh, Tuesday (8/1/2019). (ANTARA)

BANDA ACEH - Disaster expert from Syiah Kuala University (USK) Banda Aceh, Dr Alvinsyahrin, assessed that the knowledge of disaster mitigation in the Tanah Rencong area is still minimal, so it is necessary to provide education efforts in a sustainable manner to deal with every disaster. Alvin said that the 18th anniversary of the Aceh earthquake and tsunami on December 26, 2022, must be a momentum to reflect on yourself in order to continue to increase disaster mitigation knowledge. “ The hope of the global community to build Aceh is that Aceh is tough, can face disasters, be more proactive, can recognize disaster risks, both life or disaster property, ” Alvin said in Banda Aceh City, Antara, Friday, December 23. He explained that the Aceh tsunami in 2004 really synchronized the world. At that time, Aceh became the world's point of attention, so that later it became the basis for the United Nations to evaluate the framework for global disaster management action from Yokohama's strategy to the framework of Hyogo which was born in January 2005. This means, according to Alvin, Aceh inspired the world on a disaster scale. The impact of the disaster that caused hundreds of thousands of people to die led to more than 112 countries and hundreds of Non-Governing Organizations (NGO) coming to Aceh to help deal with disasters. "So this impact is so widespread, the destruction is so great, the economic impact is destroyed, that the world is moved, both institutional and global society. This inspires the UN to present reforms in the face of world disaster management, so the framework of Hyogo was born, "he said. However, said Alvin, Aceh has not shown much progress related to disaster management, especially in terms of disaster mitigation. In fact, Aceh already has evacuation buildings, evacuation routes, and initiatives to educate the public starting from the school level. However, so far, the infrastructure for disaster mitigation education has not been used, thus making the knowledge of disaster mitigation in Tanah Rencong not increasing, it has actually decreased. “And we are working rather sporadically, incidentally in disaster mitigation, this is dangerous. Because disaster mitigation is an effort that we must carry out in a sustainable manner, continuously so that we can compensate for the pre-disaster side, mitigating with a response or post-disaster side,” he said. So far, Aceh has only focused on the disaster response side, namely handling post-disasters, such as the role of the rapid reaction team, providing logistics, which should be well prepared in the mitigation stage. " “ The knowledge of the disaster mitigation of the Acehnese people is not growing, but has actually declined," he said. Alvin added, Aceh, especially Banda Aceh City, has inspired the world as a tough city. However, until now, the capital city of Banda Aceh has not been included in the criteria for a tough city of the world. Therefore, Aceh must synergize, complement each other between local governments, BNPB, the Aceh Disaster Management Agency to BPBD in urban districts to provide all needs, both in terms of policies, funding, and institutions to carry out disaster mitigation properly. "If one of them is lacking, then this will not work. So we have to really do disaster mitigation properly, so that we really become an example for the world, otherwise we are ashamed, the world comes with help,” he said.