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Jakarta needs disaster warning system for Olympic bid: NOC
Indonesia’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) has urged the government to set up a disaster early-warning system for Jakarta should the country be named the 2032 Olympics host.
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Dozens of cars are submerged after floods hit the Kemang area, South Jakarta, on Jan.1. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
T
he capacity of a city to host a multisport event can be gauged through a lot of factors, not only from staging a successful sporting tournament in itself but also its preparedness for emergencies, including natural disasters.
Despite being heavily criticized for its initial failings in welcoming participants at the beginning of the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in November last year, the Philippines managed to reassure all the parties involved in the event when Typhoon Kamuri made landfall in the country during the Games.
With an early-warning system that was directly connected with telecommunication providers, athletes, officials and journalists participating at the Games could avoid the worst of the typhoon.
The Games’ organizers immediately postponed several competitions such as rowing in Subic, which is a bay area, when the conditions were viewed as too dangerous for athletes.
Reflecting on such experiences, Raja Sapta “Okto” Oktohari of Indonesia’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) urged the government to set up a disaster early-warning system for Jakarta, should the country eventually be named as host of the 2032 Olympics.
The recent severe flooding that hit the capital in the New Year has revealed the city’s poor early-warning system as torrential rain that poured down starting on New Year’s Eve inundated several areas in Greater Jakarta.
“My experience in the SEA Games was that the Philippines was more advanced than Indonesia when it comes to a disaster early-warning system,” Okto said in a statement. “The warning arrived four days before the typhoon. The warning appeared on each cellular phone as it integrated with a provider.”
