The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) has called out regional leaders for repeatedly attributing natural disasters solely to heavy rainfall, warning that such excuses reflect a lack of preparedness and weak mitigation planning at the local level.

BNPB’s Deputy for Systems and Strategy, Raditya Jati, said many regional governments continue to overlook their responsibility in disaster anticipation and management, choosing instead to point fingers at extreme weather whenever floods, landslides or other calamities strike.

“It happens repeatedly, and they often blame high rainfall, which shows they were not prepared,” Raditya said during the Central-Regional Coordination Meeting at the Home Affairs Ministry in Jakarta on Monday, December 1, 2025.

According to Raditya, poor spatial planning remains one of the key contributors to worsening disaster impacts. Citing satellite-based data collected by BNPB, he said numerous residential areas across the greater Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi, Puncak and Cianjur region have been built in violation of river setback regulations.

“Many homes sit directly on riverbanks in violation of zoning rules. We have the data ‒ satellite-based,” he said, emphasizing that local governments must enforce spatial regulations if they wish to reduce disaster exposure.

Raditya also underscored the need for stronger cross-sector coordination, particularly in disaster-prone regions, saying mitigation cannot rely solely on central government intervention.

During the same meeting, the head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), Teuku Faisal Fathani, cautioned regional leaders about the potential for extreme rainfall toward the end of 2025.

For the December–January period, BMKG forecasts high to very high rainfall across southern parts of Indonesia, including Java, Bali, West and East Nusa Tenggara, parts of South Sulawesi and southern Papua.

Teuku added that the period from November 2025 to April 2026 marks the active phase of tropical cyclone seed formation south of Indonesia, a phenomenon that can trigger heavy downpours and strong winds.

“This increases rain potential across several regions, especially North Sumatra, Riau Islands, Jambi, East Java, Bali, West Nusa Tenggara, East Nusa Tenggara, Kalimantan, West Sulawesi, and Papua,” he said.

Weather modification

To help mitigate extreme weather impacts, BMKG is preparing to deploy weather modification operations. However, Teuku emphasized that such operations can only be carried out once a provincial government officially declares an emergency status.

”The cost is very high, so we must prioritize carefully,” he said, urging governors to understand both the capacity and limitations of atmospheric intervention