On Saturday, torrential downpours caused flash flooding, mudslides, and cold lava flows from the slopes of Mt. Marapi in the West Sumatra region of Indonesia. The severe weather killed at least 43 people and left 15 unaccounted for.
According to the National Disaster Management Agency, mountainside villages were inundated with rising waters, mud, and debris from the cold lava flow, also called a lahar. A lahar contains volcanic material and pebbles from recent eruptions and when combined with heavy rains causes swift-moving mudflows.
While Indonesia is increasingly disaster-prone, the government has acknowledged this risk and sought to address it financially. Between 2014 and 2018, 1.9% of the government spending was allocated to disaster response and recovery. Acknowledging that the cost of disasters in terms of lives lost and property and infrastructure loss was increasing the government took the initiative to develop a strategy for alternative funding to thwart the disruption of funding to other critical sectors such as health and ed
Urban flooding in Indonesia increases in frequency annually and results in the deaths of hundreds of people. Instead of investing in multi-hazard large-scale risk reduction projects, the national and subnational governments have allowed politics to infiltrate systems of logic. Instead of creating forceful and impactful policies for flood management, the disadvantaged and impoverished are forced to suffer. Change starts at the local level where officials must commit to strong policies that are built on commu