Indonesia 'A showroom' For Natural Disaster

Medan, N Sumatra, April 20 (ANTARA) - The head of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency for Region I in Medan, North Sumatra, Herry Saroso, said that Indonesia can be referred to as a "showroom" of natural disasters because of the wide ranging weather, often severe, experienced in Indonesia. "All kinds of disasters occur here," he said here Friday. As a country sitting on top of the earth�s plates, Indonesia is likely to experience earthquakes of varying strength. The existence of an earthquake is often accompanied by the threat of a tsunami, because Indonesia is a maritime country with a very long coastline. However, as an agricultural country, Indonesia also has a chance to be hit by major floods due to its heavy average rainfall. Therefore, it is not surprising that Indonesia is often considered a "showroom" for natural disaster. "From tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts, floods, heat-- it`s all there," he said, which also was voiced by North Sumatra`s acting Governor Gatot Pujo Nugroho. According to Gatot, as a province which is located in the western part of Indonesia, North Sumatra sits in disaster-prone areas, from natural or non-natural causes. Various types of natural disasters are not only causing material losses, but also loss of lives. Therefore, the agency hopes to have a Search and Rescue Agency in full readiness, to provide relief when disasters strike and to search for casualties. "The Search and Rescue team`s success is indicated from its efforts to rescue disaster victims and reduce the number of casualties," he said. Thus, all Search and Rescue team`s members are expected to always be ready, responsive, and resilient," he added.