Jokowi stresses public alertness against natural disasters

Selasa, 29 Oktober 2019 15:19 WIB

President Joko Widodo underscored the importance of people remaining alert to any disaster while inspecting an earthquake victim command post in Tulehu Village, Maluku Tengah District, on Tuesday. ANTARA/Hanni Sofia/suharto

Jakarta (ANTARA) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has appealed to Indonesians to always remain vigilant to natural disasters since Indonesia is located on the Ring of Fire, thereby making it prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

"Everyone knows that Indonesia is located in the Ring of Fire zone. This means tsunami and earthquakes are experienced by people living in the Ring of Fire zone," he stated during an inspection of an earthquake victim command post in Tulehu Village, Maluku Tengah District, Maluku Province, on Tuesday.

The president pointed to the fact that natural disasters could occur not only in Maluku Tengah but also in the rest of the country.

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He further drew attention of the people to the extent of damage caused by earthquakes that hit Aceh, Padang, Bengkulu, Lampung, Banten, and Yogyakarta

"Two years ago, (a strong earthquake engulfed) Nusa Tenggara, and one year ago (another powerful quake) hit Palu and Donggala," he noted.

Nobody wanted disasters to happen. They always prayed to God to shun any form of disaster, he noted.

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"However, if Allah has the will, we must accept it and must be ready for it," he stated.

The president and First Lady Iriana inspected an earthquake victim command post at Darussalam University in Tulehu Sub-district, MalukuTengah District, on Tuesday. The command post housed survivors of a 6.5-magnitude earthquake that rocked Maluku Province on September 26, 2019.

According to Maluku Governor Murad Ismail and Chief of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BMKG) Doni Monardo, the earthquake caused damage to 12,137 houses comprising 2,712 houses incurring serious damage, 3,317 houses sustaining moderate damage, and 6,108 houses receiving light damage.

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