Changing How We Face Disasters

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

The process of evacuating landslide victims in Sirnaresmi Village, Cisolok District, Sukabumi Regency, continued on Friday (01/04/2018).

For observers of natural phenomena, disaster recorders or journalists specializing in nature and the environment, the end and beginning of the year is a thrilling time.

Without intending to predict disasters, reopening the archives of previous years shows that many disasters occur during this period. It is not difficult to understand this. When rainfall levels are high, floods are often unavoidable. Landslides also commonly happen.

Besides being caused by the vastness of natural power, there are also human factors that we can use as a basis for minimizing the impact of disasters. Of course, various efforts made by the government to improve infrastructure to deal with disasters need to be appreciated as well. The vastness of the territory and the remoteness of many places are also factors that can lead to disaster.

The landslide in Kampung Cimapag, Sirnaresmi village, Cisolok district, Sukabumi regency, West Java, highlighted another cause of disaster. The limited availability of land encourages people to cultivate rice on steep slopes.

This fact was reported by this daily (Kompas, 03/01/2019). There is an urgency to meet the need for food, but it is difficult to find flat land for rice fields. Residents use hills. In fact, rice is not suitable for planting on sloping land. This activity invites disaster.

This situation needs to be corrected. We appreciate the initiative of the local authorities to search for alternative habitat and agricultural activities that are safer. A proactive and anticipatory stance is increasingly needed at present. The reason is that now we are living with climate change. The arrival and the end of the rainy season may be still same, from October to April. However, the climate extremes are terrifying.

Besides disasters related to the climate, we are faced with the possibility of disasters related to the risk of life on the ring of fire. Volcanoes erupt and earthquakes can happen any time. We are required to have full commitment to face any possible disasters.

We have to prove our determination to become a learning nation. To face the danger of landslides, for example, we have must have data on the utilization of sloping and unstable lands. Deforestation in upstream areas has to be stopped. Residents living there have to be relocated.

To face earthquakes and tsunamis, vulnerable areas have to be mapped. There are areas known to be prone to earthquakes, so mitigating measures to minimize the effects of the disasters are a necessity.

The most recent disaster, a tsunami in the Sunda Strait on December 22, also opened our eyes there needs to be a chain of alertness. The tsunami was not triggered by an earthquake, but rather a volcanic eruption that led to a landslide.

This is what we must work on. The premise is clear, without preparation in the future, there will be misery.