Disaster Mitigation Impact Of Rainy Season, West Java Provincial Government Collaborates With Geological Agency

The West Java Provincial Government visited the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in Bandung, Friday (8/12/2023). (ANTARA/Ricky Prayoga)

JAKARTA - The Provincial Government (Pemprov) of West Java (Jabar) is coordinating with the Geological Agency of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) to mitigate potential disasters in West Java, especially entering the rainy season.

"We want to coordinate with the Geological Agency, especially mitigate disasters because at this time we have entered an extreme rainy season with many landslides and ground movements. We visit the Geological Agency to find out in more detail what it is like and whether it can be avoided," said Acting Governor of West Java Bey Safihi Machmudin at the Bandung Geological Agency, Friday.

Bey also appreciated the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources for launching a portal or website that displays various geological-related information in Indonesia, which can be accessed by all people by being able to see how the situation is at the location.

"Inside is an area or a red situation which means you have to be alert, but please remember don't panic, but this requires us to be even more vigilant, but there is no need to overreact," he said.

This warning is also information for the community in building one building to be adjusted to the potential for disasters such as earthquakes.

"For example, at that location, by building houses that are more resistant to earthquakes, which are anti-earthquake," he said.

In addition to the Geological Agency, Bey said the West Java Provincial Government was also coordinating with various other parties, including the TNI and Polri as an anticipation in dealing with disasters.

"This morning we also held a preparedness meeting to deal with disasters, and so far all of them have worked well. For example in Purwakarta, in West Bandung there was a landslide, heavy equipment was quickly sent so that it was immediately overcome. With better coordination, potential disasters can be mitigated and when a disaster occurs, immediately responds so that people can return to their activities," he said.

Regarding disaster information, said Bey, apart from being able to be obtained through the portal, there is also a telephone service number 136 which is useful for providing confirmation and information related to disasters that occur.

"If people want to know whether the news of the volcanic eruption and the movement of the ground is true or not, they can contact the call center. West Java is a disaster-prone province, of course we must be careful and don't panic but we must be vigilant," he said.