Vice President Ma’ruf Amin has urged the Aceh provincial government to prepare disaster mitigation measures considering the region is prone to natural disasters.

“I remind you of the dangers of this disaster. Aceh is prone to (disasters), so you must really prepare as early as possible through mitigation of the possibility that occurs,” Amin said during a meeting at the Aceh Governor’s Office on Tuesday.

According to the Vice President, natural disasters can occur at any time, therefore it is necessary to prepare and prevent them as early as possible to minimize their potential impact.

“I also make an appeal: don’t prepare when the time (disaster) comes, because this is indeed (a thing that) we face every year. Therefore, we must mitigate and prepare steps to minimize the (effects of the) disaster,” he said.

The Vice President suggested several disaster mitigation measures that the Aceh provincial government can take, including preparing temporary shelters, emergency kitchens, and health care.

“Thus, no casualties will occur because (everything) will have been prepared, and the community will be prepared, ready to face every possibility. Even though the disaster does come, we will be ready and minimize (the impact),” he explained.

He then appealed to all regional governments to expedite disaster mitigation education. The appeal was based on a warning of adverse natural events caused by extreme weather changes issued by the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG).

“Do better mitigation planning considering that the warning from the BMKG has been given long before,” Amin said.

The Vice President also urged the regional government to ask the community to start working together for addressing disasters as means of short-term response.

He asked everyone to increase their awareness of the impacts of climate change and weather in various regions in Indonesia.

“Raise vigilance because the impact of climate change and extreme weather cannot be fully predicted accurately. We, as a nation of learners, should be able to take the experience of disasters in the past as a valuable lesson,” he remarked.

Source: Antara News