President Prabowo Calls for Bigger Disaster Mitigation Budget in Limited Meeting

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said his government needs to allocate more funding for disaster mitigation at a disaster response meeting. He said this during a limited virtual meeting on Monday, 7 September 2026, to discuss the latest developments in disaster response.

Prabowo said Indonesia's position in the Ring of Fire requires the country to be prepared to face natural disasters. Ring of Fire is a horseshoe-shaped seismic zone in the Pacific Ocean where tectonic plates meet, making earthquakes and volcanic eruptions common.

"This is our reality as a country located in the Ring of Fire. Therefore, this requires us to be prepared to face situations like this at any time," Prabowo said from the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

"Perhaps this is also a lesson for us, for the government that I lead, that we need to significantly increase budget allocations for disaster mitigation. I believe that going forward, we will be better equipped to deal with such situations," he continued, as quoted from the Indonesian Presidential Secretariat.

The meeting discussed responses to various recent natural disasters, including the Flores earthquake in East Nusa Tenggara in mid-August and the Mount Anak Krakatau eruption in the Sunda Strait last weekend. It also discussed responses to recent forest and land fires across Sumatra and Kalimantan.

During the meeting, Prabowo reflected on the post-disaster response to Cyclone Senyar in northern Sumatra since late last year, which he claimed had been "swift and extensive", and expressed his gratitude to all parties involved. He also said the responses to recent fires have been "quite swift".

During the meeting, Prabowo called for a more anticipatory approach to preventing future forest fires. These include deploying more helicopters, water pumps, firefighting vehicles, and excavators in disaster-prone areas.

"We’ll put together a comprehensive and extensive master plan as part of the preparations," he said.

At a press conference on Tuesday, 8 September 2026, Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) stated that its 2026 budget was Rp5.7 trillion (about US$323.3 million). The figure consists of the regular budget, rehabilitation and reconstruction support, and the contingency fund.

The agency has received additional funding to support disaster management in 2027. The government approved an initial budget of Rp1.12 trillion (about US$63.5 million), including support for post-Senyar recovery in northern Sumatran provinces.