The Ambon City Regional Disaster Mitigation Office (BPBD) conducted simulations for mitigation of hydrometeorological disasters, such as floods and landslides, at Wai Batu Merah and Wai Tomu Rivers.
The simulation involved volunteers, Disaster Preparedness Cadets (Tagana), Indonesian Red Cross (PMI), and the communities in the Negeri Batu Merah Village, Ambon, on Monday.
Acting Mayor of Ambon Bodewin Wattimena remarked that the disaster simulation activity was an effort to boost readiness to face potential floods and landslides in residential areas.
“The simulation conducted closely mimics the real disaster, and hopefully, it would be able to build community preparedness and all stakeholders related to floods and landslides (mitigation) in Ambon City,” he remarked.
Wattimena urged people to not build houses in disaster-prone areas, such as riverbanks, mountain slopes, and hillsides.
“Do not build houses on hillsides and riverbanks,” he remarked.
Wattimena said his side will conduct monitoring through the building construction permit (IMB) procedure to ensure that no houses are being constructed at prohibited locations.
“We can monitor it through the IMB procedure. If the location is not for residential areas, then do not issue an IMB,” he emphasized.
Earlier, the Ambon BPBD reported that losses due to hydrometeorological hazards, such as floods and landslides, had reached Rp10 billion during the period between June and August 2022.
During the June-August 2022 period, floods and landslides hit the sub-districts of Nusaniwe, Sirimau, Teluk Ambon, Teluk Ambon Baguala, and Leitimur Selatan in Ambon City due to heavy rains.
In addition to holding disaster mitigation simulations, the Ambon BPBD continues to strengthen its human resources and improve procedures, regulations, and coordination in tackling disaster impacts.
One of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) conducted by the BPBD is to receive information from the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) and conduct final evaluation on rain intensity that might trigger floods.
Source: Antara News