TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Perhaps the Central Java provincial government needs to reflect on the old saying: 'Take an umbrella before it rains'. Last week's floods and landslides that swept through 16 provinces-arguably the worst ever for the region-left 47 dead, 15 injured and dozens missing. The total material loss is estimated to reach hundreds of millions of rupiah.

The 'umbrella' most needed in Central Java, or any other region in the country for that matter, is a comprehensive disaster mitigation plan. As a first step, the regional governments should be alert and responsive towards disaster potentials in their regions. Two days before the disaster, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) and the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) had issued warnings for torrential rain until June 20 for Central Java.

There are also maps of disaster-prone areas available. Among the 918 landslide-prone areas throughout Indonesia, Central Java has 327 landslide hotspots-the highest among the regions. What more data is needed? It should be recalled that in the last three years, floods and landslides in massive scale had become commonplace. This is critical given the fast-approaching Lebaran holidays. Central Java is the main route for holiday travelers.

Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo's public statement sounded odd when he acknowledged that the early warning system in his region was still weak. Alas, his awareness was not followed up by proper warnings as he failed to respond with due measures to the legitimate emergency signals issued by the two pertinent institutions, resulting in fatal consequences.

Ill-prepared, the relief activities went about their task clumsily. It was certainly impossible to carry out maximum rescue efforts when scrapers and diggers reached the site three days after the incident. In some locations, the search for victims was done using manual tools such as spades, garden hoes and other traditional tools.

Regional governments should be more alert in anticipating disasters. After all, floods, landslides and forest fires are routine scourges that always recur. The BMKG had warned of cumulonimbus clouds that could cause massive downpours days before. Currently, the agency forecasted heavy rains for Java and Sumatra until Lebaran as the La Nina phenomenon continues to trigger untimely rains.

All this information can be used as reference to prepare disaster mitigation plans. The communities need to be involved as they have local wisdom passed down through generations in predicting disasters. For example, the emergence of new springs and trees that suddenly turn sideway could indicate an impending landslide. The Purworejo regency has utilized such local lore in anticipating a landslide a few years back.

As natural disasters become an annual phenomenon, regional governments need not be surprised when they are hit by floods and landslides in the rainy season or stagger when handling forest fires in the dry season. Without effective mitigation plans and a cautious attitude, they will look like losers who refuse to have on hand umbrellas for the rainy season. (*)

Read the full story in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine