Multi-Natural Disaster Management to Improve Disaster Resilience Strategy
Indonesia has a high level of vulnerability and it is dominated by hydrometeorological disasters such as floods, landslides, and tornadoes as well as geological disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions. Losses due to disasters can also cause economic downturn in the region and the national economy.
In this regard, the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs through the Deputy for Coordination of Regional Development and Spatial Planning together with the World Bank discussed various programs that can be synergized together to strengthen regional resilience, especially against multi-natural disasters in Indonesia.
The World Bank as a centre of knowledge is expected to provide support for capacity building in dealing with disasters, such as through training in the form of workshops and short courses. "Capacity building for both the Central Government and Regional Governments is the first thing that needs attention to build a common understanding in disaster management," said Deputy for Regional Development and Spatial Planning Wahyu Utomo when receiving a visit from World Bank representatives, Wednesday (12/10).
On this occasion, the World Bank, represented by the Practice Manager for Urban Development and Disaster Risk Management, Mr. Ming Zhang, Task Team Leader Mr. Haris Sanahuja, and Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist Mr. Rashmin Gunasekera Chaminda welcomes the program that has been running at the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and hopes to collaborate in the future in a sustainable manner in the grand framework of strengthening regional and economic resilience from disasters.
In his presentation, the World Bank also conveyed the method of calculating the post-disaster economic impact quickly using the Global Rapid Post-Disaster Damage Estimation (GRADE) method. This method is a desk-based method, using the support of disruptive technology, historical data, reported damage statistics, and catastrophe risk modelling. The time required for GRADE is approximately 2 (two) weeks to produce data on economic losses due to disasters, much faster than the method currently used.
This method was introduced by the Senior Disaster Risk Management Specialist and Leader at the Global Program on Disaster Risk Analytics at the Global Facility for Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR), Rashmin Gunasekera Chaminda. It is hoped that this GRADE method can also be applied to disaster cases in various regions in Indonesia in order to fill the gap in data on economic losses due to disasters.
Furthermore, in the near future the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy will collaborate to support the World Bank in the implementation of the Seismic Risk and Resilience in Indonesia Study. One of the activities in the study is the analysis of public buildings such as hospitals, schools, government offices, as well as offices and community service facilities against earthquake risk in several cities. The results of the study are expected to provide support for further programs to increase building toughness, especially against earthquakes.
