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Indonesia and India: Dealing with disasters together
Nature’s fury knows no bounds. Palu in Central Sulawesi witnessed that fury very recently.
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This aerial photograph shows devastation from soil liquefaction at Petobo in Palu on October 7, 2018, following the September 28 earthquake and tsunami. (AFP/Adek Berry)
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ature’s fury knows no bounds. Palu in Central Sulawesi witnessed that fury very recently. A powerful earthquake triggered a tsunami that engulfed the town, washing away entire sections of it on Sept. 28.
As the world reacted, India was among the first responders. Three days after the tsunami struck, the Indian government launched Operation Samudra Maitri (Oceanic Friendship) to assist in the disaster response. The Indian Air Force and Navy dispatched two aircraft and three naval ships respectively to the affected region.
While Palu limps back to normalcy, this is neither the first nor the last disaster that the region will face. To deal with this threat Indonesia and India must consider a deeper cooperation in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR).
Maritime geography binds Indonesia and India, a geography prone to disasters. The eastern Indian Ocean, which connects the two, sees several cyclones every year in the Bay of Bengal. The west coast of Sumatra straddles the “ring of fire”, a vast hotbed for earthquakes and volcanoes. Climate change adds to the danger.
