Ministry of Social Affairs Develops Disaster Preparedness Area on Megathrust Potency Areas

CILACAP (November 16,2019) – The Ministry of Social Affairs developed Disaster Preparedness Area in megathrust potency area as the improvement of public preparedness and mitigation on the disaster anticipation and also to reduce the disaster risk.

The Social Affairs Minister Juliari P. Batubara revealed that the early stage of Disaster Preparedness Area was developed on Cilacap and Kebumen Regency, Central Java Province and Pangandaran Regency of West Java Province.

There were seven sub-districts which been developed to become the Disaster Preparedness Area, which was Kalipucang, Pangandaran, Sidamulih (Pangandaran Regency), Kesugihan and Adipala (Cilacap Regency), Ayahh and Buayan (Kebumen Regency) Sub-Districts.

“In those seven sub-districts, there are villages (based on the mapping of Meteorological, Climatological and Geophysical Agency) which has high risk and it is on the Megathrust track. Most of them has lower risk towards the disaster but it hoped to become a support area when the disaster happens,” said the Minister.

The Social Affairs Minister stated that the Megathrust potency had to be anticipated by providing education and delivered correct information to the public so that it didn’t became a hoax.

Megathrust is an earth quake which happened because of collision of Indo-Australian and Eurasian’s plate, and could cause Tsunami.

According to the National Earthquake Source Map of 2017 which been released by National Earthquake Research Center, the potential zone which could cause a megathrust earthquake in Java Island was located in three locations, which was Sunda Strait area, Southern part of West and Central Java Border, and also East Java-Bali Segment.

Director General of Social Protection and Security Harry Hikmat stated that the Disaster Preparedness Area was a formal forum of Community based disaster management which located in sub-district and made into an area of disaster management.

The Focus is to provide education for the public and facilitated the Arrangement of Minimum Service Standards on Disaster Management which organized the task and authority distribution between central and local government on disaster management.

“In this education, the MoSA develops Community Based Disaster Management which being implemented in Tagana Goes to School (TMS) and Disaster Preparedness Village (KSB),” said the Director General in the Coordination Meeting of Disaster Preparedness Area on Southern Beach of Java Island which been held in Cilacap, Saturday.

The Director General explained that in the Disaster Preparedness Area, disaster education and training was only been done per village, now the coverage area was getting wider include the disaster-prone area which been bordered between regencies or provinces.

“Disaster Preparedness Area on Megathrust Potency area will be done by the Social Affairs Minister in Pangandaran at 22 November. We hope that this event is not only as a ceremonial, but also as the momentum of strengthening commitment from all stakeholders in disaster risk management,” said Harry.

To be known, before the launch of Disaster Preparedness Area, the MoSA was held the coordination meeting with local government and related stakeholders. This coordination meeting was important and could be a momentum to align the communications and step together with all of the MoSA’s partner on the province, regency, or subdistrict until village.

“The Ministry of Social Affairs is one of the central institutions which manage the natural disaster while the natural disaster management has been done in integration, right on the central or local on every disaster management’s steps starting from Pre, current, and after disaster,” he said.