Jokowi Departs for Flash Flood-Hit West Sumatra

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Jokowi Widodo and First Lady Iriana left for West Sumatra Province on Tuesday morning, May 21, to directly inspect regions struck by flash floods and cold lava flows.

They departed using the Indonesian Presidential Airplane-1. The Presidential Secretariat said in a written statement that the entourage took off from Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base in Jakarta at around 06:30 local time.

Upon landing at Minangkabau International Airport, Padang Pariaman, the President would go straight to one of the locations affected by the disaster in Agam Regency by car and then head to Batu Taba Field to monitor the emergency response post. He would also hand over compensation and assistance to the families of victims.

The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) recorded that the cold lava floods, locally known as Galodo, killed at least 61 people as of Saturday, May 18. 22 of them were Agam residents.

On Tuesday afternoon, the President and First Lady will return to Minangkabau International Airport and take off to Jakarta.

Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Muhadjir Effendy, Military Secretary to the President Major General Rudy Saladin, Commander of the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) Major General Achiruddin, and Acting Deputy for Protocol, Press, and Media of the Presidential Secretariat M. Yusuf Permana accompanied President Jokowi and First Lady Iriana on their visit to West Sumatra.

DANIEL A. FAJRI

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