Jakarta. High maintenance costs and a shoestring budget have made Indonesia’s fight against disasters more challenging, according to analysts.

Indonesia has been grappling with back-to-back episodes of disasters: a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that rocked East Nusa Tenggara, forest fires whose haze blanketed parts of Southeast Asia, and Mount Anak Krakatau’s eruptions that sparked airport closures. The Indonesian archipelago remains consistently at risk for tsunamis.

President Prabowo Subianto is aware that the country must be “ready at all times”. The country sits along the Pacific “Ring of Fire”, making it prone to earthquakes and other volcanic disruptions.

Disaster expert Daryono said Thursday that Indonesia already possessed a dependable tsunami warning system. On quakes, Indonesia is working on InaEEWS, a system that detects primary waves, which would trigger automatic warnings a few seconds before the destructive tremors strike. But maintaining and upgrading technologies carry a hefty price tag.

“Because of our vast archipelagic geography, distributing the sensors and building a reliable telecommunication network nationwide can be quite complex and costly. The tools are highly susceptible to damage due to extreme weather and sea corrosion. That’s why we need to keep funding its maintenance,” Daryono told the Jakarta Globe.

Indonesia earmarked Rp 491 billion ($28 million) for the disaster management agency BNPB this year, a huge drop from roughly Rp 2 trillion ($114 million) in 2025. The agency proposed an extra Rp 564 billion ($32 million) for 2026 spending to narrow the gap.

Indonesia has what it calls “ready-to-use funds” or emergency cash, which reached Rp 4.6 trillion ($261 million). BNPB has nudged the Finance Ministry into injecting another Rp 5.67 trillion (almost $322.7 million) into the emergency fund.

On forest fires, BNPB mostly rents its fire-extinguishing aircraft from private companies, which is also not cheap.

Prabowo has ordered a “significant hike” to Indonesia’s disaster mitigation budget. Daryono agreed with the plan, saying that it could help bankroll radar maintenance. He added: “The money can go into improving communication infrastructure so we can release the early warnings without any lag.”

Bhima Yudhistira of the economic think-tank Celios urged the government to adjust the budget as soon as possible, especially by moving money from other posts.

“You only have two choices: to raise the disaster budget or bear the subsequent loss? BNPB only requested an [additional] Rp 5.67 trillion,” Bhima said, underlining how the money is only a tiny fraction of the estimated health and economic loss from this year’s forest fires, which could total up to Rp 123.1 trillion ($7 billion).

Postponing the budget overhaul will not only slow down growth in the scorched Kalimantan and Sumatera, but also in Java. Bhima fears further delays can spike food prices and health insurance costs.

Lightning-Fast Alert
Many Indonesians are also wondering whether Jakarta could one day follow in Japan’s footsteps.

Japan, which experiences 10% of the world’s tremors, instantly pushes alerts to notify its citizens after detecting the first seismic waves. Daryono believes that replicating such a system wouldn’t be impossible, saying that Indonesia is moving towards that direction. But again, building a seismometer network of Japan’s caliber underwater and on ground nationwide requires a “massive investment”.

“Japan automatically stops the Shinkansen bullet train and shuts off piped gas [amid seismic activities]. [Indonesia] is still gradually developing such integration to key infrastructure,” Daryono said.

But modern technologies would not be effective if people have no idea how to react to the notification.

“If the government really raises the disaster budget, parts of the money should go into programs that raise public disaster awareness. This way, people will know what to do,” Daryono said.

Banten resident Thessa is keeping her fingers crossed for a reliable alert system. She mostly relies on social media posts, news platforms, and most recently, AI chatbots on disaster updates, including whether her area is safe.

“If possible, a vibrating push notification, especially for earthquakes and tsunamis. Or the government can use WhatsApp. There are so many spam messages on SMS, so people wouldn’t be aware [of the alert],” Thessa said.

Can A Merger Help?
Bigger budget aside, Prabowo is mulling merging the stand-alone weather agency BMKG and the geological agency for better effectiveness. The latter is under the Energy Ministry and also researches geological disasters. BMKG deals with tsunamis and quakes in addition to its daily weather forecasts. The merger had received positive responses among lawmakers; some said that it would be more efficient.

BMKG chief secretary Guswanto told reporters that the agency would “stand ready” to act on Prabowo's merger instructions.

“We are already strategic partners who share the goal of protecting the citizens from disasters. Our work in spreading information is complementary. … We shall keep strengthening our [disaster] monitoring, analysis, and information broadcast,” Guswanto said.

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