Letter: Disaster response

The various natural disasters in Indonesia have wreaked havoc and, as usual, are referred to as the wrath of God by the Islamic council.

Let’s ignore the last part of that sentence as unrealistic and unhelpful.

Most natural disasters nowadays have “early warning” systems in place that should give the population ample time to react and reach safe areas.

Unfortunately for the Mount Merapi eruption, people are more concerned about their livelihoods then their physical safety, and as to the tsunami in Mentawai, it turned out that early warning systems had been removed or more simply — stolen.

Both phenomena in Indonesia have to be “accepted” as part of daily life, and therefore focus should be on disaster response and management.

For Mount Merapi and other volcanoes, when the danger level requires evacuation, authorities should have mandates backed by legal regulations to implement evacuation and prevent the unscheduled return of inhabitants.

Mentawai is a different issue. Weather conditions were blamed for the slow response of relief operations after the early warning system failure.

That should not have been the case due to the fact that these operations should not rely solely on accessibility by sea but should also take into account alternatives.

This means: Responsible officers must have the capability to analyze situations thoroughly and to come up with adequate solutions, including alternatives.

My experience in Indonesia showed me that such people are available if and when they are trained and educated by expatriate organizations or individuals.

If help is not directly available, do not hesitate to draw knowledge from abroad or from local expatriates.

Jorith
Jakarta