Muhadjir: The Government is Ready to Face the Hurricane La Nina

JAKARTA (17 December 2020) - The government ensures the readiness to face the La Nina hurricane which is predicted to last until March 2021.

Minister of Social Affairs Ad Interim, Muhadjir Effendi explained that the government's readiness in facing the La Nina storm phenomenon was manifested by the Disaster Preparedness Ceremony which Tagana (Disaster Preparedness Cadets) and Koppasus (Special Forces Command) participated in to overcome the impact of La Nina.

"The Ceremony is a concrete manifestation of how we must be prepared for all forms of disasters, including the La Nina storm," said Muhadjir while leading the rally at the Command Headquarters (Mako) Kopassus Cijantung, East Jakarta, Thursday (17/12).

Muhadjir added that currently the government has carried out mapping of areas that are likely to be seriously affected by the La Nina phenomenon. However, he did not explain in detail which areas would be badly affected.

"We ask all regions to be ready to deal with the impact of La Nina," said Muhadjir.

In addition, explained the Minister of Social Affairs, Tagana was also given the task of helping the government and the COVID-19 task force in overcoming the current social disaster.

The Ministry of Social Affairs will also provide 2 units of public kitchen cars. "The design and model are being prepared by Kopassus. Later, this can become a model if the design is good and easy to operate in the disaster area," he continued.

The Meteorology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) has released that at the end of December 2020 to March 2021 the natural phenomenon of La Nina is predicted to occur, which causes rainfall to increase by up to 40% compared to the usual rainy season conditions.

Muhadjir said that the regional readiness in facing the threat of natural disasters is to minimize casualties if a disaster occurs at any time.

BNPB noted that throughout 2020, from January to December 10, 2020, there were 2,676 disasters in Indonesia.

"This proves that the republic is very prone to disasters," he explained.

Meanwhile, the Director General of Social Protection and Security, Pepen Nazaruddin admitted that he had coordinated with the TNI, Polri and local governments to carry out disaster preparedness.

"We have instructed Tagana to continue to carry out monitoring and joint training with all elements, including the TNI / Polri, in order to evacuate and help the community in the event of a disaster," explained Pepen.

Pepen also promised to distribute Bufferstock to warehouses in areas where disaster-prone areas are indicated.