Visiting Evacuees in West Sumatra, Social Affairs Minister asks for evacuation sites to be moved

AGAM (May 16^th, 2024) – The Minister of Social Affairs visited the evacuation camp for cold lava flood victims in Agam Regency, West Sumatera, on Wednesday night (15/5). After coordinating with Agam Regent Andri Warman, Social Affairs Minister Risma instructed her staff to relocate the evacuation site to a safer place away from the cold lava path.

Social Affairs Minister Risma said that before visiting the evacuation post, she learned about the vulcanology side and the cold lava path of Marapi Mount. It turns out that the location of the evacuation site is not entirely safe because it is still cold lave path. “I delivered to the Mr. Regent, Mr. Military District Commander, Ms. Resort Police Chief, and Head of Village to move the evacuation camp. We don’t want more victims,” said Risma.

The Minister continued, that children and the elderly must be evacuated first to a safe place.  “The location will be chosen by the Regent, Dandim and Kapolres, which place is safer.   We (Ministry of Social Affairs) will be ready to follow the move,” said Social Affairs Minister Risma in front of the media crew.

It is known, shortly after the cold lava flood hit Saturday (11/5) night, Social Affairs Minister Risma immediately instructed her staff to carry out disaster management. Until Wednesday (15/5), the Ministry of Social Affairs has established a public kitchen and distributed logistical assistance to disaster-affected areas, namely in Tanah Datar Regency, Padang Panjang Regency, Agam Regency, and Padang Pariaman Regency.

The logistics distributed in the form of ready-to-eat food 7,900 packages, ready-to-eat side dishes 3,900 packages, children's food 2,760 packages, mattresses 1,420 sheets, mattresses 54 sheets, velbed 90 units, blankets 1,650 sheets, family kits 1,320 packages, and kids ware 1,260 packages. In addition, 1,212 packages of adult clothing, 1,230 packages of children's clothing, 528 packages of sanitary napkins, and 99 packages of pampers were also distributed. The Ministry of Social Affairs also provided 685 roll-up tents, 119 portable family tents, 36 multi-purpose tents, 3 floodlights, 5 generators, and 2 portable toilet units. The total assistance distributed was worth a total of Rp. 5.5 billion.

The cold lava flood that occurred in West Sumatra was triggered by heavy rain in the upstream area of Mount Marapi. Until Wednesday (5/14), 52 people were recorded dead, 19 people were missing and 42 people were injured. For the victims, the Ministry of Social Affairs distributed assistance deployed from BBPPKS Padang, Inten Soeweno Cibinong Integrated Center, Budi Perkasa Palembang Center, Abiseka Pekanbaru Center, Alyatama Jambi Center, Dharmaguna Bengkulu Center, Insyaf Medan Center, and Bahagia Medan Center. Assistance will continue to be provided according to the needs of the evacuees because the stock available is very adequate.