Alert! Indonesia Ranks Second Disaster-Risk Country In The World

OKU BPBD personnel evacuated flood victims in Lubuk Batang District. (ANTARA/Edo Purmana/Arsip)

JAKARTA - The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) revealed that Indonesia currently ranks second as the country with the biggest disaster risk in the world as a result of the World Risk Report (WRR) analysis.

Deputy for Prevention of the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) Prasinta Dewi said that a report from the 2023 World Risk Report (WRR), Indonesia has a World Risk Index (WRI) score of 43.5 out of 100, slightly adrift of neighboring countries, namely the Philippines, which ranks at the top with a score of 46.86.

"Indonesia is ranked second out of 193 (states) in The World Risk Report or WRR 2023," Prasinta said at the launch of Disaster Preparedness Day, quoted from ANTARA, March 3.

Prasinta revealed that the WRI disaster risk index examines disaster levels based on hazard components, exposure rates, and community capacity in dealing with disasters.

He mentioned the community's readiness to face disasters to determine the size of the impact of the disaster to be received.

"Therefore, the community must have the ability to survive and rebuild life after being hit by a disaster or build back better," he said.

According to Prasinta, disaster preparedness is an effort to anticipate and respond to disasters effectively that need to be built from an early age, so that they can face the possibility of sudden disasters.

Moreover, he continued, Indonesia, which is located in the tropics and is located at a meeting of two oceans and continents, makes this country prone to disasters, such as floods, flash floods, landslides, extreme weather, extreme waves, abrasion, and drought that can trigger forest and land fires (karhutla).

For this reason, Prasinta invites all Indonesian people to participate and participate in the success of the 2024 Disaster Preparedness Day activities, which will be held on April 26, 2024, by ringing a ring, bell, or siren at 10 am local time.

"Let us recognize the threat of disaster, understand the risk of disaster, increase the culture of disaster awareness," he said.

For information, the 2024 Disaster Preparedness Day has been commemorated since 2017. This year the activity is centered in the city of Padang. In addition to being attended by people throughout Indonesia, these activities were specifically attended by 17 provinces, 30 districts/cities, and 180 villages/kelurahan which were intervened in the Indonesia Disaster Resilience Initiatives Project (IDRIP) program.