JAKARTA: Last month, an earthquake in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province killed at least 135 people, while Mount Anak Krakatau’s eruption earlier this month shut several airports for two days and disrupted flights. The country has also been battling forest and land fires in parts of Kalimantan and Sumatra.
These natural and manmade environmental disasters across Indonesia have underscored gaps in enforcement, early-warning systems and coordination between central and local governments, say experts speaking to CNA. They are not the only ones with this view.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto seemed to acknowledge as much when he ordered his government earlier this month to draw up a comprehensive disaster mitigation masterplan.
Indonesia’s location on the Pacific Ring of Fire leaves it vulnerable to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions, while climate change is intensifying risks from floods, landslides, droughts and forest fires.
