Tens of thousands of homes damaged by disasters since early 2024, BNPB: dominated by hydrometeorology

MidLand, Jakarta – The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) received 277 reports of catastrophic incidents in Indonesia from January 1, 2024 to February 12. The entire incident damaged 11,295 residents’ homes, with damage ranging from minor to severe.

BNPB Disaster Data, Information and Communication Center head Abdul Muhari said the number of disasters and their impact were summarized from Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) reports in all districts and the cities of Indonesia. “We calculate and create disaster statistics. Usually every three months we check again whether there are additions or not,” Abdul said at the event. Disaster briefing: Disaster warning before the vote in Jakarta, Tuesday, February 13, 2024.

Referring to BNPB data, natural hazards have been dominated by hydrometeorological ones since the beginning of the year. Its share reached 98.92% of the total accidents counted, far exceeding geological disasters with 1.08%. There are four most common types of disasters, starting from floods, extreme weather, landslides, and earthquakes.

With so many residences affected by disasters, Abdul asked the public to increase vigilance, especially during the peak of the rainy season, which is likely to continue until the end of February 2024. People living in areas with a history of disasters should be vigilant to the risk of repeated disasters.

Announcement

According to him, Indonesia’s presence at the equator makes rainfall distribution increasingly dynamic and difficult to predict. “In general, we still pay attention to the hydrometeorological disaster conditions until the end of February,” Abdul said.

An example of an area that needs to be alerted is Grobogan Regency. The reason is that there are still puddles and floods at that point that have not completely receded. With the same conditions, the inhabitants of Brebes, Sidoarjo, Cilacap, Madiun and Subang must also increase their vigilance.

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