Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has said it has installed 27 units of landslide early warning system to help policy making process concerning evacuations in risk areas.
"At the community level, BNPB has strengthened the early warning system for floods and landslides, which will be utilized as a decision support system," BNPB Head Lieutenant General Ganip Warsito said in a written statement received here on Saturday.
Many more landslide early warning devices will be installed in other parts of the nation that are prone to disasters, he informed.
In the near future, seven devices will be installed in some areas near the river in East Java and Central Java, he added.
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Active participation of the pentahelix elements (government, business institutions, academics, communities, and the media) is needed for anticipating the risk of hydro-meteorological disasters, he affirmed.
According to Warsito, cooperation between BNPB in the downstream and the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) in the upstream can enhance early warning rapidly and appropriately to reduce disaster risk.
Early warnings are also the basis for further emergency response measures, he explained.
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He said the community can independently monitor early warnings and obtain information on areas likely to witness floods, flash floods, and landslides, and even susceptible villages, through the BMKG website https://inarisk2.bnpb.go.id/pencegahan/.
"The decision on evacuation routes and their signs for the disaster-prone areas must be made," Warsito stressed.
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Broadcasting early warnings through community-based communication networks can support the early warning systems, he said. The information broadcast can be done via mail, instant messages, WhatsApp groups, and other social media, he added.
"BNPB always supports the activities of volunteers and communities to improve preparedness," he said.
According to him, mass media also plays an important role in disseminating early caution, education, and socialization to a wider audience to reduce the impact of hydro-meteorological disasters.
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