To honor its former spokesman, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has named a new multipurpose hall at its Jakarta headquarters after the late Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

“I hereby declare the Dr. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho room officially open for use,” BNPB head Doni Monardo said while inaugurating the hall on Thursday, as quoted by news agency Antara.

Kepala BNPB Doni Monardo meresmikan ruang serbaguna lantai 15 di Graha BNPB menjadi ruang serbaguna Dr. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho. @Sutopo_PN #RuangSerbaguna #KepalaBNPB #GrahaBNPB pic.twitter.com/xKJajJP7LN

— BNPB Indonesia (@BNPB_Indonesia) August 1, 2019

Doni also announced a posthumous award for Sutopo. The Dharma Widya Argya award is given to people who dedicate their lives to disaster mitigation in Indonesia. The award was received by Sutopo’s wife, Retno Utami. The family also received a Rp 200 million (US$14,162) grant from state-owned lender Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) for the education of their children. 

Sutopo died on July 7 at the St. Stamford Modern Cancer Hospital in Guangzhou, China, where he had received treatment for stage IV lung cancer since June 15. Sutopo passed away at 48. 

Prior to his death, Sutopo dedicated many years to relay information about natural disasters in Indonesia. He received the Public Campaigner Award in 2014 and was recognized by the Straits Times as one of the Asians of the Year in 2018.