In order for the management of disasters of Mt. Sinabung in the Regency of Karo to be well-measured and to work well and not to be seemingly in disarray, the formation of the contingency plan for handling the disasters must be made.  This plan is intended to facilitate the duties of the Regional Government of Karo to face and abate the risks of the disasters, as well as its handling/management as per Government Regulation Number 21 of 2008.

Collecting the data and formation of the contingency plan must be conducted professionally. Management of disasters is not an easy thing to do and it requires serious discussions involving specialists and academicians. “This necessity has been agreed upon by all parties involved, the legislative, the executive, academicians and scientist’“, said the Head of the Centre of Studies of the Management of Disasters of UPN “Veteran” Yogyakarta, Mr EkoTeguh Paripurno in his analysis conducted in Kabanjahe on Monday (3/4) during his visit to the Regency of Karo.

There are a lot of technical follow ups for the management of disasters, with regard to the main aspects considered as the standards or rules of the game, including, among other things, the start of formulating the ratification process, discussing the necessary elements in building the awareness and preparation operational procedures. These include the situation, target, the activities to be done and the analysis of the needs.

For that purpose, UPN “Veteran’ Yogyakarta sent representatives to Karo to meet the Regent and offered cooperation in the management of the disasters. As we conducted the analysis from 2011 to 2017, the management of disasters here has faced a number of obstacles, from the delayed handling of the Relocation II, the refugees lacking the badly needed logistic, their children having to go to different schools and the Huntara (temporary shelters) for 8,000 refugees. From these obstacles we learned that some causes were associated with poor communication and management of disasters, leading to the unfinished handling of the disasters, as said by Puji Lestari, the Head of the bequest researchers of the PUPT of UPN “Veteran” Yogyakarta.

The objective of this cooperation was to provide consultation in order to improve better understanding among the government, public and stakeholders of the mechanism of disaster management for Sinabung so that it may have one single purpose, one single clear perception in accordance with the schedule set forth by the Central Government, without taking up a long time, which may lead to new problems such as the refugees of Sinabung eruption having to stay too long in the command post (posko) shelters, reconstruction and the lengthy rehabilitation of the refugees, said Prof. Sari Bahagiarti, a professor and the Rector of UPN Veteran.

During his cordial meeting with the representatives of UPN Veteran Yogyakarta in the Meeting Room of the Deputy Regent on the second floor, Regent of Karo, Mr. Terkelin Brahamana, admitted that the management of disasters in the Regency of Karo was rather slow for a reason that he could not explain but in principle the Government of Karois open to any party who intends to help with the management of Mt. Sinabung disasters.

BPBD (Regional Disaster Management Agency) of Karo has been formed only recently, which has made on-site performance slow. This happens as a result of the lack of experience and weak contingency. The Head of Karo BPBD, Martin Sitepu hoped that UPN “Veteran” Yogyakarta would be able to provide inputs with regard to handling of the Sinabung disasters. These weaknesses are visible in the less smooth communication and poor management of disasters as well as the less-updated on-site data. These obstacles could be solved if the local wisdom was applied and specialists were involved as guides. The Regional Government of Karo is aware of this and tries to position scientists and academicians as the consultants so that the Sinabung issues can be completed settled in 2017, as expected by the Central Government.