Mataram's Disaster Emergency Alert Status Extended Until End of March

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Regional Disaster Mitigation Agency (BPBD)-Mataram Office has extended the city's disaster emergency alert status until the end of March 2024, considering the potential disaster risks of ongoing extreme weather.

"The alert status actually ended on March 16 but it has been extended until the end of March," the agency's acting head, Mahfuddin Noor, said in Mataram, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara Province, on Sunday.

If hazards with escalation potentials are predicted to occur in wider areas and cause fatalities, the disaster emergency alert status could be increased to an emergency response status, he said.

Noor said the emergency response status could be declared if flooding, caused by a river overflow, had affected four or five neighborhood units (RT) with an intensity of more than three hours.

Then the inundation had impacted locals' socio-economic activities, he said, adding that in such condition, the disaster emergency alert status could be increased to the emergency response status.

According to the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Mataram City would likely experience an extreme weather condition, marked by heavy rainfall and strong winds, until 10 days starting from March 15.

"The strong winds and heavy rainfall still have chances to happen in the next few days but they will not be as powerful as those of Wednesday and Thursday (March 13-14)," he said.

The strong winds and heavy rainfall that occurred on March 13 and March 14 had toppled 27 trees, he added.

ANTARA

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