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ost-earthquake disaster efforts in West Nusa Tenggara were ongoing when the earthquake and tsunami struck Central Sulawesi on Sept. 28, stunning us with its devastating impact. Yet, Central Sulawesi had already been categorized as one of the areas prone to earthquakes, because of the Palu Koro fault that runs from the Makassar Strait to the Bone Bay across the island.

According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), most victims were found in collapsed buildings and houses destroyed by the earthquake along the coast, including the popular Talise Beach in Palu, and more are likely still under the mud following the liquefaction that drowned dense settlements in the city’s Balaroa housing complex, Petobo and Sigi districts.

At the very least, the large number of casualties caused by the tsunami in coastal areas including Talise could have been avoided with more widespread understanding about the potential for tsunamis following earthquakes, as seen in the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in Aceh as well as a similar disaster in the Mentawai Islands in 2009.

The low level of awareness and understanding apparent in Palu, Central Sulawesi’s capital and other affected areas such as Donggala showed the urgent need to improve such awareness in many areas across Indonesia that are prone to disasters.

Moreover, lack of earthquake and tsunami early warning systems in areas that have been identified as active faults shows that priorities are also urgent in the installation of early warning equipment for the threat of natural disasters.

The major disasters since those that occurred in Aceh were in Nias, Yogyakarta and Central Java, West Sumatra and Mentawai, the Lombok earthquake and last Palu and also Donggala. Serious efforts in reducing disaster risks are urgent, especially in improving prevention and preparedness for disasters.

Indonesia has been internationally recognized as among the most progressive countries in efforts to reduce the risks of disasters, as shown by the awarding of then-president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as “global champion for disaster risk reduction” in 2011 by the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. But since then we have seen insufficient commitment to translate this “championship” to relevant capacities at the regional and community levels.

By paying attention to the occurrence of disasters and their response in recent years, policies on reducing risks of disasters should be evaluated, particularly at the regional level that still show gaps in performance.

Data from the BNPB and Home Ministry shows that the commitment of local governments in investing in disaster risk reduction is still relatively low. Nevertheless, disaster management has become part of local government obligations through Law No. 23/2014 on regional governments, and Government Regulation No. 2/2018 on minimum service standards; thus awareness and responsibility should increase among local governments regarding preparedness in the event of disasters.

Therefore, in handling disasters the central government has correctly entrusted and delegated wherever possible disaster management responsibilities to the provincial, and more importantly regental and municipal governments, with support and facilitation from the central government.

Thus as much as possible, when the local administration can still function in event of a disaster as in Lombok and Central Sulawesi, a disaster status is sufficiently determined as a regional disaster without having to be designated as a national disaster; even though support is almost entirely sourced from the central government from the emergency phase to the post-disaster recovery phase.

As disaster risk reduction efforts are also among authorities of local governments, this includes investing part of the local budget for reducing risks of disasters in their respective regions. This way the disaster risk reduction investments can be better planned according to the needs of each local government, depending on their type of threat and vulnerability, as well as the required capacity building efforts and improvement of community preparedness.

Cultural approaches to reduce disaster risks need to be pursued, by making the community an “agent of disaster prevention”, including improving awareness of disasters based on local wisdom.

As shown on the islands of Simeulue in Aceh, Nias and Mentawai in North Sumatra, communities were more prepared in facing the threat of a tsunami as some recalled ancestors’ accounts when they saw high waves, which then receded, leaving grappling fish. They fled to higher ground — instead of approaching the fish, as in other areas when the tsunami struck.

With the extent of damage caused by the disaster, and considering the capacity of the provincial government and affected local governments in handling recovery, the central government’s assistance team should be regulated through a presidential instruction on speeding up recovery in Central Sulawesi. This is necessary to facilitate the provincial government and affected district or municipal governments in the post-disaster recovery phase, as well as strengthen the capacity of local governments in reducing risks of disaster in the medium to long-term.

Finally, it is necessary to support a policy framework, institutional framework and financing framework that is more delegated and decentralized to the regional level, as well as to ensure an effective and smooth sustainable disaster risk reduction-based recovery in Central Sulawesi.

Hence, commitment and support from relevant ministries and agencies is required to be able to increase the capacity of the provincial government and affected local governments in post-disaster recovery and reduce risks of disasters in the medium and long-term. Such support would enable uninterrupted development in Central Sulawesi despite the threat of future disasters.
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