December 1, 2025 | 05:20 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Home Affairs Tito Karnavian acknowledges that the government is not yet ready to deal with large-scale disasters such as the Sumatra flood that occurred in the provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra.
Tito made this statement during a coordination meeting for Christmas and New Year's preparations in 2026 at the Ministry of Home Affairs office in Central Jakarta on Monday, December 1, 2025. He acknowledged that the government's disaster preparedness still has room for improvement.
"The disaster is quite extensive in Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. And then we don't know, we will listen to BMKG because we all need preparation. Similar to what happened in North Sumatra, it happened very quickly, and maybe we were not prepared for it," Tito said.
The coordination meeting was attended by several strategic agencies, including the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs, the Armed Forces, the National Police, and the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).
Tito emphasized that disasters can happen at any time and in any place, so everyone must be alert. "Now, for this, it can happen at any time, at any place, anywhere. That's why we will invite BMKG to attend and deliver their presentation," he said.
Meanwhile, Teuku Faisal Fathani, the head of BMKG, stated that his agency had warned the local government eight days in advance about the potential of Tropical Cyclone Senyar. Tropical cyclone Senyar is said to be the cause of the major flood that hit Sumatra.
"The tropical cyclone Senyar could already be predicted about eight days before the cyclone formation process. So in Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, the Head of the 1st Agency, the BMKG Regional Office, had issued a warning eight days in advance, repeated it four days before, and then two days before," Teuku Faisal Fathani said in the coordination meeting.
Teuku asked local government officials to respond immediately and increase their vigilance. He also asked the local government to disseminate this information directly to the public.
"So that there are several local government officials who captured the information and directly conveyed it to their authorities at the regional level," Teuku said.
The Sumatra flood that hit Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra has resulted in 442 casualties and hundreds of others missing. The impact of the flood and landslides has also caused damage to settlements, roads, and public facilities.
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