There Were 185 Disasters Over 3 Weeks In 2021

Illustration - BNPB officers are evacuating victims of natural disasters (Photo: BNPB documentation)

JAKARTA - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) recorded that there were 185 disasters that occurred in early 2021 for only three weeks, or from January 1 to January 21.

The Head of Disaster Data and Communication Committee for BNPB, Raditya Jati said, the most frequent disasters that occur until the third week of January are hydrometeorological disasters. This disaster occurred due to weather factors.

"Hydrometeorological disasters, such as floods, landslides and tornadoes, dominated disaster events until the beginning of the fourth week of January," said Raditya Jati in his statement, Thursday, January 21.

In details, there were 127 floods, 3 landslides, 21 tornadoes. Then, other disaster events that were recorded were tidal wave 5 events and earthquake 2 events.

Although floods occur most frequently, the disaster that causes the most casualties is the earthquake. The death toll from the earthquake was 91 people, landslides 41 people, and floods 34 people. Then, the victims missing in the flood disaster earlier this year were 8 people and the earthquake was 3 people.

Most of the injured victims were also caused by the earthquake. "BNPB recorded injuries from the earthquake 1,172 people, 26 landslides, 7 tornadoes, and 5 floods," said Raditya.

As for the damage to houses due to the disaster, there were at least 1,896 units with different levels. 147 units of houses were severely damaged, 63 were moderately damaged, and 1,686 were slightly damaged. This data will develop because it is still in the data collection process.

"Of the severely damaged category, landslides still caused the highest damage, namely 45 units, followed by tidal waves or abrasions 40, floods 38 and tornadoes 24," he said.

Disasters also cause damage to public facilities. From a number of disasters, the damage to residents' facilities was 18 units, 15 houses of worship, 3 health, 2 offices and 25 bridges. Damage to public facilities due to the earthquake is still being collected.

Seeing the impact of the disaster, Raditya appealed to the public to remain vigilant and alert. He asked the public to pay attention to the weather forecasts informed by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), considering that the peak of the rainy season still occurs until February 2021.

"Another potential danger is an earthquake that can occur at any time, such as the one in West Sulawesi Province. In addition, another danger is the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still spreading in the community," he concluded.