Aceh Tsunami and Government Policy in Handling it: A Historical Study

Abstract

Tsunami occurred in Aceh in 2004 was determined by the Government as a national disaster. The criteria supported Aceh Tsunami as a natural disaster to be determined as national disasters are (1) The victims and Losses incurred after Aceh Tsunami in 2004 and (2) The Public Service condition after Aceh Tsunami in 2004. Aceh Tsunami caused many problems that the government had to solve. These problems included regional governments that were not operating properly, logistics vacuum, ongoing armed conflicts with GAM, the rejection of international assistance in terms of military, disaster management agencies had been formed, disaster management laws did not exist, and state budget of 2004 was not available for Aceh Tsunami emergency response. This research used historical methods with the following steps: heuristics, criticism, interpretation, and historiography. The results of the research were the processes and efforts undertaken by SBY Government in handling the Aceh Tsunami after the issuance of Presidential Decree Number 112 of 2004. The lessons obtained from Aceh Tsunami handle can be utilized by Regional Government or Central Government for disaster mitigation, namely (1) allocating resources for risk mitigation; and (2) disaster preparedness is an important investment for a country.