MK requires 3 indicators to determine national disasters
The death toll is now the key trigger, and once three indicators are met the central government must take over response efforts.
Mahkamah Konstitusi ruled that the designation of national and regional disaster status may be based on at least three of five indicators, with the number of casualties as a mandatory primary indicator. Decision No. 261/PUU-XXIII/2025 was read by Chief Justice Suhartoyo at a hearing in Jakarta on Friday. Previously, Article 7 paragraph (2) of Law No. 24 of 2007 listed five indicators: number of casualties, property losses, damage to infrastructure and facilities, the extent of the affected area, and socio-economic impacts. Constitutional Justice Enny Nurbaningsih said requiring all five indicators at once could hinder early determination during the emergency response phase. The petition was filed by lawyers after floods and landslides in Aceh, Sumatra Utara, and Sumatra Barat in 2025 killed 1,016 people and forced about 850 thousand residents to evacuate.