From the Flores Tsunami to the Sumatra Floods, the Traces of Soeharto and Prabowo's Disaster Response

Floods and landslides that have struck Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra over the past week present a new challenge for the country in dealing with disasters. The extensive damage and the limited capacity of local governments necessitate direct intervention from the central government to strengthen on-ground response efforts.

As of Tuesday (2/12/2025) afternoon, data from the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) indicates an escalating scale of disaster. A total of 659 lives have been lost, 475 individuals are missing, and more than 2,600 people are injured. The total number of affected residents reaches 3.2 million, with 1.1 million of them displaced.

A total of 50 districts/cities are in a status of direct impact. Physical damage is also widespread: more than 3,500 houses are severely damaged, 2,000 houses are moderately damaged, and 3,500 houses are lightly damaged. In addition, 322 public facilities have been affected, and 277 bridges have been broken or severely damaged.

Despite its large scale and widespread impact, President Prabowo Subianto did not declare this event a national disaster. Nevertheless, the central government continues to provide full support to strengthen the response in the affected areas, ranging from the delivery of logistics, provision of heavy equipment, to the deployment of personnel from the military and BNPB.

The fiscal and technical capacity of the regions is very limited. Therefore, the central government must still be present as the commanding authority when disasters exceed the capabilities of local governments.

President Prabowo also directly inspected disaster management in Tapanuli Tengah, North Sumatra; Southeast Aceh, Aceh; and Padang Pariaman, West Sumatra, on Monday (1/12/2025). At the evacuation sites, the President emphasized the government's commitment to intensifying the distribution of aid and accelerating the repair of damaged infrastructure.

After reviewing three locations in three provinces affected by floods and landslides, the President has not yet decided to elevate the emergency status to a national disaster. When interviewed at Raja Sisingamangaraja XII Airport in North Tapanuli, he stated that the situation has improved.

Moreover, the weather is predicted to gradually improve in the future. "I think the current situation, a provincial emergency, is sufficient," said Prabowo.

Large-scale disasters are not a new occurrence. During the presidencies of previous leaders, earthquakes, floods, landslides, and tsunamis have repeatedly struck the homeland. Indonesia's geographical location at the convergence of three active tectonic plates, within the ring of fire, and its tropical climate with high rainfall makes it one of the most vulnerable countries to natural disasters.

More than three decades ago, during the era of the second President Soeharto, Indonesia faced one of the major disasters that marked an important point in the history of modern disasters. On Saturday afternoon, December 12, 1992, at 1:29 PM WITA (12:29 PM WIB), a powerful earthquake struck Flores, East Nusa Tenggara.

The earthquake registered a magnitude of 6.8 on the Richter scale according to national records, while the Strasbourg Geophysical Institute in France recorded it at 7.5. The strongest tremors were felt in central and eastern Flores.

The severity of the tectonic earthquake became more dramatic when a tsunami followed a few minutes later, sweeping inland up to approximately 300 meters, particularly in Maumere, the capital of Sikka Regency. The earthquake followed by the tsunami resulted in the deaths of more than 2,000 people.

Two days after the disaster, the discourse on national status intensified. The government was still weighing the criteria and consequences. "The President asked me to investigate this. Of course, there are criteria," said Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, as reported by Kompas (12/15/1992).

Four days after the incident, President Soeharto declared the Flores earthquake and tsunami as a national disaster through Presidential Decree Number 66 of 1992, signed on December 16, 1992. This declaration paved the way for massive mobilization from the central government and friendly nations.

President Soeharto instructed the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare, who is also the Chairman of the National Disaster Management Agency, to immediately coordinate the preparation of disaster response programs, conduct damage assessments, and implement emergency recovery efforts.

The central government prioritizes urgent needs such as food, clean water, healthcare services, and the acceleration of the rehabilitation of residential houses, schools, community health centers, and public facilities, even using semi-permanent materials if necessary.

Several countries are promptly sending emergency aid to Flores. The Australian government is sending tarpaulins, tents, water bags, 1,000 jerrycans, floating tanks, and antibiotics. The Netherlands is providing one million guilders and medicines through the Red Cross. Japan, through JICA, is sending blankets, medicines, medical equipment, and tents worth 65 million yen, complementing previous assistance amounting to 1.5 million US dollars.

Support also came from the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Singapore, Belgium, Sudan, and Germany, in the form of monetary assistance, tents, medicines, and other emergency supplies.

President Soeharto and Mrs. Tien then visited Maumere on December 23, 1992. The President inspected the devastated Bero Village and spoke with patients in the emergency tents of TC Hillers General Hospital. The President also urged the local government to prioritize the reconstruction of residents' homes, schools, community health centers, and public spaces.

Another major disaster that occurred in Indonesia was the Aceh-Nias tsunami on December 26, 2004. At that time, around 07:58 AM, a powerful earthquake struck in the Indian Ocean, approximately 149 km west of Meulaboh, with a magnitude of 8.2 Mw (Moment Magnitude) on the Richter scale. This became one of the largest earthquakes in recorded history.

The earthquake's epicenter, located 30 km below the ocean floor, lies between the Indo-Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates. The movement of these plates triggered a megathrust earthquake, which generated a massive thrust in the seawater. This generated a massive tsunami, reaching speeds of up to 800 km/h, that struck the west coast of Sumatra, including Banda Aceh, Meulaboh, and Nias, as well as several areas in neighboring countries such as Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, and the Maldives.

The Kompas daily reported that within a day, the death toll was estimated to reach 10,000. On December 27, 2004, exactly one day after the incident, the sixth President, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, immediately declared a national day of mourning, a humanitarian emergency, and three days of community service.

This step also establishes the tsunami in these two provinces as a national disaster through Presidential Decree (Keppres) 112/2004 regarding the Declaration of Natural Disaster of Earthquake and Tsunami in the Province of Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam and the Province of North Sumatra as a National Disaster and National Mourning Day.

This tsunami has had a truly widespread impact. Overall, it is estimated that 167,000 people have died as a result of this tsunami, with thousands more missing or injured. However, the rapidly established national disaster status allowed the central government to quickly take control of the response and recovery efforts. Assistance from abroad could also flow in swiftly.

A major earthquake also struck the Special Region of Yogyakarta and parts of Central Java on May 27, 2006. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.3-6.4 Mw or 5.9 on the Richter scale, caused thousands of houses and buildings, particularly in Bantul Regency, to collapse.

President Yudhoyono immediately inspected the location a day after the incident. In this event, the Yogyakarta Special Region Government declared a state of emergency for 5-7 days to search for the victims who are still missing.

Although it did not become a national disaster, the Yogyakarta Regional Disaster Management Agency recorded 6,652 deaths due to this earthquake.

Lombok was also not spared from the disaster of a major earthquake that began shaking on July 29, 2018. The earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.4 on the Richter scale, occurred with its epicenter at a depth of 13 km and located 47 km to the northeast of the city of Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara Province.

On August 5, 2018, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. On August 19, 2018, a 6.9 magnitude earthquake again shook Lombok.

This disaster occurred amidst the 2018 Asian Games in the capital. Therefore, despite the deaths of more than 500 people, the excitement of the Asian Games continued in Lombok. Kompas reported that the 7th President, Joko Widodo, watched the closing ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games with earthquake evacuees in Lombok on Sunday (September 2, 2018) while reviewing the handling of disaster victims.

The status of the Lombok earthquake disaster was not declared a national disaster. At that time, the Head of the Data Information and Public Relations Center of BNPB, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, stated that the local government was still functioning and able to carry out its administration.

Since there are still resources available and capable of performing their duties, the central government does not need to declare the earthquake a national disaster and take over the responsibilities of local governments. However, the central government continues to assist and strengthen local governments, both at the provincial and regency/city levels.

Several months later, on September 28, 2018, an earthquake, tsunami, and liquefaction occurred in Palu and Donggala in Central Sulawesi Province. As a result of this incident, at least 4,340 people lost their lives and tens of thousands of houses were damaged.

Despite the earthquake and its widespread impact, the government at the time did not declare the incident a national disaster. "I don't think it's necessary, the handling is beyond that of a national disaster," Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan told reporters at the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs in Jakarta on Monday (October 1, 2018).

The major disaster that occurred during the second term of President Jokowi's administration was the Covid-19 pandemic. In early March 2020, Jokowi, accompanied by the then Minister of State Secretary Pratikno and Minister of Health Terawan Agus Putranto, announced the first two patients who tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

After about a month and a half, Jokowi declared Covid-19 a national non-natural disaster through Presidential Decree (Keppres) Number 12/2020.

With this decision, the pandemic is not only managed by the Covid-19 Acceleration Handling Task Force with regional heads as the task force leaders in their respective areas. In addition, the government has greater authority in allocating emergency budgets from the state budget. Integrated handling from the central to the regional level has also become stronger.

The experience of facing and managing disasters in Indonesia should serve as a lesson. The Executive Director of the Regional Autonomy Implementation Monitoring Committee (KPPOD), Herman N. Suparman, believes that the change in disaster management patterns after the reform has created new challenges for the regions.

The authority for emergency response is indeed delegated to local governments; however, the fiscal and technical capacity of the regions is very limited. Therefore, the central government must still be present as the commanding authority when a disaster exceeds the capabilities of local governments.

"From a governance perspective, we can say that the region is indeed unprepared. This condition causes local governments to quickly become overwhelmed when faced with large-scale disasters," he stated.

He cited the 2004 Aceh tsunami, which rendered the local government structure paralyzed, thus evacuation could only be mobilized by national authorities. Moreover, at that time, Aceh was still in the midst of armed conflict.

A similar situation occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic, which required a single command to ensure that health and logistics policies were implemented uniformly across Indonesia. The extensive scale of the crisis necessitated that its management be elevated to the national level.

Herman also emphasized that one of the root causes of disasters—namely deforestation and the expansion of the extractive industry—lies within the authority of the central government. Therefore, it is unjust to place the entire burden of handling this issue solely on the regions.

"If traced back to its origins, the causes of the disaster largely fall under the authority of the central government, particularly regarding mining and forestry," said Herman.

He observed inconsistencies in the pattern of intervention by the central government. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the government acted swiftly to take over national coordination. However, in the natural disasters of the past one to two years, the responsibility has largely been delegated to the regions.

The consistency between fiscal centralization and the centralization of disaster responsibility should go hand in hand. The central government now holds significant control over the nation's finances. Conversely, budget cuts have limited the fiscal capacity of local governments. However, when faced with major disasters, the responsibility remains imposed on regions with limited capacity.