Indonesia: Rehabilitates Islands To Better Face Tsunamis
By KUNA
Indonesian authorities are in the process of rehabilitating the Mentawai Islands, within the West Sumatra Province, in a project lasting three years aiming to enable better response and management of tsunamis in the future.
ANTARA news agency Tuesday said, quoting a National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) official speaking Monday.
BNPB Data and Information Center-Public Relations Office head Sutopo Nugroho said “The process of rehabilitation and reconstruction of tsunami-hit Mentawai islands over a period of three years (2011-2013) will need funds totaling 1.16 trillion rupiahs.”
“The funds required for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of post-tsunami Mentawai total 1.16 trillion rupiahs, with 486 trillion rupiahs to be disbursed in 2011,” said Nugroho in Jakarta.
Speaking in a press conference on the progress of the construction of temporary shelters in the Mentawai region, Nugroho added that the funding will be allocated on five sectors, housing, economy, infrastructure, social and trans-sectors.
BNPB Emergency Response Division acting deputy head Doddy Ruswandi said in the press conference that the reconstruction of Mentawai will formally start in May or July 2011, the agency reported.
In addition to re-constructing the infrastructure at Mentawai, BNPB has also provided financial assistances of 13.9 billion rupiahs to Mentawai Regency Government for the recovery program of the peoples economy during the transition period prior to the rehabilitation and reconstruction program.
The financial assistance extended was aimed at the empowerment of the people’s economy on various sectors including fishery, agriculture, and small- and medium scale businesses.
The state’s early warning systems can alert over probability of or an approaching tsunami four minutes after registering of an earthquake.
