Al Jufri said his ministry now had the capability to distribute more than 1,000 tons of rice among disaster victims. Provincial administrations could provide 200 tons and district administrations 100 tons of rice.
Nusa Dua, Bali (ANTARA News) - Social Affairs Minister Salim Segaf Al Jufri said his ministry was preparing itself to carry out its duties such as distributing food aid in anticipation of floods expected to hit Jakarta in their five-year cycle.

"It`s not only for the Jakarta floods but also for other disasters in Indonesia. We are preparing everything needed to be able to provide emergency food assistance for two weeks," the minister said in Nusa Dua on Wednesday (Nov 2).

Al Jufri said his ministry now had the capability to distribute more than 1,000 tons of rice among disaster victims. Provincial administrations could provide 200 tons and district administrations 100 tons of rice.

"The Social Affairs Ministry is always ready, and in each province there`s always a stockpile that is never allowed to drop to zero. The stockpiles are enough to last two weeks," Al Jufri added.

Several locations in Jakarta have already been flooded by water from heavy rains falling in the initial stages of the rainy season lately. City authorities fear the capital will again see major floods in 2012 or five years after the wide spread deluge in 2007.

Earlier, the Jakarta City Council had urged the city government to take precautionary measures in anticipation of the floods. The Council had previously approved the allocation of Rp557 billion under the city`s 2012 budget for disaster relief aid.

The Council had also endorsed budget allocations for acquisition of land for various flood prevention projects such as the East Flood Canal, dredging of the Marunda and Surilang rivers, normalization of the Mookervart and Sekertaris rivers in the city.

According to Indonesia National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), as many as 644 disasters hit Indonesia in 2010, and 81.5 percent of the number was hydro meteorological such as floods, landslides, and flash floods.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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