Facing the Impact of La Nina, the Ministry of Social Affairs is Ready to Support the Needs of DKI Jakarta City Government

Facing the Impact of La Nina, the Ministry of Social Affairs is Ready to Support the Needs of DKI Jakarta City Government
Writer :
Alif Mufida Ulya
Editor :
Annisa YH
Translator :
Intan Qonita N

JAKARTA (November 3, 2020) - The Ministry of Social Affairs stated that it is ready to fully support the needs of the DKI Jakarta City Government in dealing with the impact of La Nina.

The Director of Social Protection for Victims of Natural Disasters (PSKBA), M. Safii Nasution, said that the impact of La Nina was an increase in rainfall/rain intensity up to 20-40%, which resulted in massive flooding in Indonesia, which is expected to occur in the end of this November to March next year.

"We, from the Ministry of Social Affairs, are ready to support the Regional Government, in this case DKI Jakarta, in dealing with floods. Support means that we are backing up the potential that the Regional Government does not yet have, what they need, we provide," said Safii during his visit to the East Jakarta City Administration Office, Tuesday (3/11).

Based on the Disaster Management Law Number 24 of 2007, the Ministry of Social Affairs has the main task and function of handling evacuees and providing social protection in order to fulfill the basic needs of evacuees.

"Well, on that basis, in accordance with the main tasks and functions, the Ministry of Social Affairs ensures that the handling of evacuees and the basic needs of evacuees in the five areas of DKI Jakarta are met," said Safii.

For example, he continued, in East Jakarta, they need tents, cooking utensils, and other equipment that the East Jakarta City Government does not yet have. According to him, the needs will be inventoried by his staff.

"In addition, other support is the deployment of Disaster Preparedness Cadets (Tagana) HR from West Java and Banten, if the disaster is massive, to help handle disaster victims in the DKI Jakarta area. In essence, we will support,“ said Safii.

The presence of Safii, together with the Heads of Sub-Directorates (Kasubdit) in the place he leads, and Deputy Aster Koppasus Lt. Col., Irfan Amir, were warmly received by the Deputy Mayor of East Jakarta, Hendra Hidayat and his staff.

Disaster management, said Safii, must be carried out in a planned, comprehensive, integrated and sustainable manner.

"For that, we are trying to coordinate with the Social Office, in this case the East Jakarta City Government, to ensure evacuation points, resources that can be empowered, to handle evacuees later related to the impact of La Nina," he said again.

Preparation for Handling Floods in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic

In accordance with the mandate of the law that in order to fulfill the basic needs of evacuees, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Social Affairs already has evacuee tents that meet the health protocol requirements based on government regulations.

"We have evacuee tents that have been modified in accordance with health protocols, use barriers, are equipped with ventilation, and if that is needed, we will provide them," said Safii.

Therefore, he emphasized that the purpose of his visit, apart from coordination, was also to ensure how to work together to deal with floods in the COVID-19 pandemic situation.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Mayor of East Jakarta, Hendra Hidayat, admitted that he was surprised because he did not expect that the Ministry of Social Affairs had taken quick steps to make innovations in evacuee tents.

"We were also surprised that it turns out that the Ministry of Social Affairs itself already has a tent that meets health protocols, namely that there are bulkheads and ventilation," admitted the Deputy Mayor of East Jakarta.

If there is a flood in the future, Hendra hopes that the Ministry of Social Affairs is willing to provide the tents to the East Jakarta City Government.

"This is one of the efforts to continue to prevent the spread of COVID-19, even in the midst of a flood disaster. However, once again, personally, I hope that the tent is never used, meaning that everything is safe, there is no flooding,” said Hendra.

Even though there are evacuations, he continued, he hopes that in the future the evacuation will not give rise to a new group of COVID-19.

"Even if there will be a flood, even if there will be evacuations, we all hope that this will not become a new cluster of COVID-19, because we want everything to be handled properly without causing new problems," he concluded.
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