PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) predicts the potential for moderate to heavy or very heavy intensity rain accompanied by lightning and strong winds to occur on April 13-16 2024.

Therefore, the Regional Secretary of West Java Province, Herman Suryatman, appealed to people who will travel backflow for Eid 2024 to be alert and careful while traveling.

"We urge the public not to panic, but to remain alert to potential disasters that may occur during the reverse flow journey," said Herman in Bandung City, Saturday (13/4/2024).

The West Java Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) recorded 13 reports of disaster events in the period 11-12 April 2024, such as flood disasters in Sumedang Regency and Cimahi City, and landslides in a number of areas in West Java.

Herman said, there are several efforts that the community can make during the Eid backflow journey. First, monitor the weather before traveling through various information channels, such as BMKG.

"Make sure that the route you are going to travel on is not hampered by disaster events that cause the road to be impassable to vehicles by monitoring information on social media," he said.

Apart from that, Herman also asked the public to ensure that their vehicles are in good condition for driving long distances, and to stop the vehicle and pull over in a safe place in a sturdy building if there is potential for extreme weather.

"If you travel to a tourist spot, make sure you know about potential disasters that threaten that location through the personal Inarisk application which can be uploaded to the Playstore or Apple Store," said Herman.

If a threatening disaster emergency occurs, Herman asks the public to immediately contact the nearest district/city BPBD or the West Java BPBD call center via number 082317012056 which is active 24 hours 7 days.

Previously, the Chief Executive of the West Java BPBD, Dani Ramdan, said that the West Java BPBD had prepared everything during the Eid homecoming period related to potential disasters.

"Among other things, what we are preparing is a collaboration post which is a combination of several agencies to improve services for homecoming travelers. In this post, apart from basic services such as rest areas, health services, we also educate the public about disaster awareness. The Collaboration Post concept that we are currently initiating "has been adopted nationally," said Dani.

According to Dani, West Java is a disaster-prone area. From January to March 2024, there have been 398 disasters. Meanwhile, in 2023, disasters in West Java will be recorded at 2,049 disasters.

"Most of the hydrometeorological disasters, such as floods, flash floods, wet landslides, etc.," said Dani.