Aceh – Indonesia, Vice Governor of Aceh, Fadhlullah (Dek Fadh), has proposed providing heavy machinery through a loan-use scheme for regencies and cities located in flood-prone areas.
The proposal was presented during a virtual follow-up meeting regarding the coordination meeting on the management and handling of river basins, held at the Aceh Vice Governor’s Meeting Room on Friday (2/10/2026).
Chaired by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Police Commissioner General Tomsi Tohir, the meeting addressed several critical agendas, including preventive measures against follow-up disasters, strengthening early warning systems, and accelerating infrastructure recovery in affected regions. The session was also attended by relevant ministries, agencies, regional leaders, and disaster management officials from each affected area.
During the meeting, Vice Governor Dek Fadh stated that having heavy machinery available locally is essential to speed up response efforts when floods hit, particularly for dredging and river normalization. According to him, regency and municipal governments could utilize Unexpected Expenditure (BTT) funds to cover the operational costs of the machinery, ensuring faster response times on the ground.
“We are proposing a solution where flood-prone regencies and cities are equipped with heavy machinery—at least four excavators under a loan-use system. This way, when flooding occurs, local governments can act immediately, as regional heads are most familiar with the conditions and needs of their areas,” he stated.
He explained that this need is tied to the current condition of several rivers in Aceh, which experience siltation and course shifts during floods. He added that these conditions have damaged newly rebuilt post-disaster infrastructure, such as two bridges recently completed by the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) that suffered fresh damage from recent flooding.
Furthermore, Vice Governor Dek Fadh highlighted the need to streamline Environmental Impact Assessment (AMDAL) procedures during emergency situations.
He suggested simplifying river management protocols during emergency states to prevent urgent operations from being delayed by time-consuming bureaucratic procedures that hinder field responses.
“For emergency situations, we hope there is a mechanism that simplifies field operations—for example, through an authorization letter from the post commander or task force leader, acknowledged by the relevant ministry and departments. What matters most is that mitigation can be carried out immediately,” Vice Governor Dek Fadh said.
In response to the proposal, the Head of the Post for the Acceleration of Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Task Force (Satgas PRR) stated that the feedback would be taken into account for further action. He also urged regency and municipal governments to complete their data collection so that relief and mitigation efforts can be carried out more efficiently and accurately. []