Aceh – Indonesia, Banda Aceh (Waspada Aceh) – Deputy Governor (Wagub) of Aceh, Fadhlullah (Dek Fadh), proposed providing heavy equipment through a loan scheme for regencies/cities in flood-prone areas. The proposal was presented during a virtual follow-up meeting discussing the outcomes of the river basin management and handling coordination meeting, held in the Aceh Deputy Governor’s Meeting Room on Friday (2/10/2026).
The meeting, chaired by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Police Commissioner General Tomsi Tohir, addressed several critical agendas, including steps to anticipate follow-up disasters, strengthening early warning systems, and accelerating infrastructure recovery in affected regions.
The meeting was also attended by relevant ministries and agencies, as well as regional heads and disaster management units from each affected area.
During the meeting, Vice Governor Dek Fadh stated that the availability of heavy equipment in the regions is necessary to speed up handling when floods occur, particularly for river dredging and normalization. According to him, regency/city governments can utilize Unforeseen Expenditure (BTT) funds to support equipment operations, enabling faster response in the field.
“We propose a solution where these flood-prone regencies and cities are provided with heavy equipment, a minimum of four excavators under a loan arrangement. This way, when a flood occurs, local governments can act immediately because regional heads better understand the conditions and needs of their areas,” he said.
He explained that this need relates to the condition of several rivers in Aceh that experience silting and altered courses during floods. This situation, he added, has also impacted several post-disaster reconstructed infrastructures, such as two bridges recently completed by the TNI that suffered damage again due to recent flooding.
Additionally, Vice Governor Dek Fadh highlighted the need to adjust the implementation mechanism for Environmental Impact Assessments (AMDAL) during emergency situations. He proposed that river handling procedures during emergencies be simplified. The goal is to prevent urgent response measures from being delayed by time-consuming administrative procedures, which hinder field operations.
“For emergency conditions, we hope there is a mechanism that facilitates work on the ground, for example, through a letter from the task force commander or command post chief acknowledged by the relevant ministries and departments. What matters most is that mitigation can be carried out immediately,” said Vice Governor Dek Fadh.
Responding to the proposal, the Head of the Acceleration of Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Task Force (Satgas PRR) Command Post stated that the input would be followed up. He also requested regency and city governments to complete data collection so that responses can be executed more efficiently and effectively. (*)