Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of State Secretary, Prasetyo Hadi, has underlined the importance of building preparedness against disasters, especially earthquakes, considering Indonesia's location in the Ring of Fire.
Although there is no technology to predict the exact time of an earthquake, mitigation efforts must be carried out in a disciplined and comprehensive manner, he stressed.
"When a disaster occurs, we must have readied equipment and personnel, have conducted mitigation education, evacuation, including medical equipment," he said at the Presidential Palace on Friday in response to the earthquake in Bengkulu earlier on Friday morning.
Indonesia is one of the countries located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, a string of volcanoes along the Pacific Ocean, which is known as the most geologically active region in the world.
This makes Indonesia vulnerable to many natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis, Hadi said.
Therefore, he emphasized the need to maintain disaster mitigation equipment and increase institutional and individual awareness to improve mitigation plans.
He said that disaster preparedness is similar to preparing fire extinguishers. Even though fires are not expected to occur, fire extinguishers need to be maintained and kept ready.
When any equipment is not used and maintained for a long time, it stops functioning, he added.
Baca juga: BNPB trains villages for tsunami evacuation readiness
Hadi said that disaster preparedness is a shared task that requires discipline from both individuals and institutions.
To enforce discipline in preparedness, he drew attention to the need for adequate budgetary support.
"This goes back to state revenues. Taxpayer awareness is very important to optimally fund disaster mitigation," he said.
Baca juga: Budget efficiency does not disrupt disaster mitigation: Minister
Early on Friday morning, a 6.3M earthquake in Bengkulu damaged at least 140 houses.
According to data from the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), the earthquake was centered in the sea at a depth of 10 kilometers with no potential to trigger a tsunami.
Strong tremors lasting 2–3 seconds were also felt in Central Bengkulu and North Bengkulu districts.
