Natural Disasters on the Rise
Tuesday, 07 October, 2008 | 16:50 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The number of natural disaster has increased from year to year, although the number of victims has declined. “Indonesia is like the hypermarket of natural disasters,” Rustam S. Pakaya, the Health Department’s head of Crisis Control Center told Tempo last month. These natural disasters include floods, landslides, tornados, and earthquakes.

The health department recorded 300 catastrophes until August this year, claiming 263 lives. Last year there were 202 incidents with 670 victims, while in 2006 there were 165 disasters with 7,700 victims.

Since 2006, the government has divided nine regions according to natural disasters crisis control centers, comprising of Medan, Palembang, Jakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, Banjarmasin, Bali, Manado, and Makassar. This division is expected to accelerate the response in handling disasters and minimize the number of victims.
Each region has a medical team involving international-standard doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. They are trained to care for the victims with traumatic stresses. The team is also prepared to build emergency tents on scene and perform surgeries on site.

This year the government has trained 5.000 medical staff with specific skills in dealing with emergency situations during a disaster. The medical team also includes military personnel, the police, and journalists. They are trained to use rubber boats and communication radios. They are also expected to be able to handle disasters caused by people, such as horizontal conflicts.

The government has also involved the community, forming an Alert Youth for Disaster (Dasipena) which consists of university students and the youths. The Dasipena group is provided with basic training on medical assistance.

So far, the Dasipena consists of 1.400 members in Makassar, 4.100 in Semarang and 5.000 in Surabaya. The group is a priority in the nine divisions although the target is to have one such group in each province. This year, the government has targeted 10.000 – 15.000 youths to participate in the Dasipena program. The target will be increased to 35.000 – 40.000 people by 2009. Rustam is optimistic that the target will be achieved considering the high level of people participation. He said the biggest problem faced by the government in making this program succeed is the lack of funding.


Aqida Swamurti