Padang, April 26 -- The Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture, Muhadjir Effendy, said on Friday that socializing disaster mitigation is important in West Sumatra, which is known to be prone to disasters, to minimize casualties.

"Regional governments must actively promote disaster mitigation in line with the potential for disasters in the area. This is to minimize potential losses, both material and potential loss of life," he pointed out.

He said that efforts to minimize the impact of disasters, including increasing mitigation outreach to the community, are the responsibility of local governments.

Potential disasters can be detected, but the time when they would occur cannot be ascertained, so preparedness is very imp...