Rain-heavy Holiday Seasons; Ministry Prepares Disaster Response Team

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) is preparing a disaster response team to maintain the public's safety when traveling for Christmas and New Year holidays. The ministry's director general of Bina Marga, Hedy Rahadian, said that drivers are advised to be extra careful as the year-end holiday season coincides with the country's rainy season.

"The PUPR Ministry has prepared a disaster response team to anticipate emergencies, particularly those related to landslides and floods," said Hedy in an online press conference on Friday, December 15.

Hedy said that each toll road business entity (BUJT) has prepared their disaster management team on each toll road to deal with emergency situations, be it accidents or natural disasters such as floods and landslides.

"On national roads, we provide disaster relief units, especially in areas prone to landslides," Hedy said.

Examples of these areas, he mentioned, are the Summit District (Puncak) in West Java, and Dieng in Central Java. There are also several areas prone to landslides in the southern route, for example, Pelabuhan Ratu, and several points in the hillside districts prone to landslides, both on the islands of Sumatra and Java. "In Sumatra, the roads around Bukittinggi are prone to landslides," he said.

Amelia Rahima Sari

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