Indonesia, the 'disaster laboratory' - Study

Indonesia is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, such that the country is known as the 'disasters laboratory'. Why? Because Indonesia lies within the so-called Ring of Fire and in an active section of the crust of the earth, where the Pacific Plate meets many surrounding plates. Those tectonic plates collide and cause movement of Indonesia's dynamic region. Analysis of disaster risk shows that Indonesia is one among the zone areas prone to natural disasters, so it automatically reveals the number of vulnerable families affected by the disaster.

Sumatra, Java and East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) are the areas with the highest risk zone that suffers intense earthquakes. Whereas Java, Sumatra and Sulawesi are high risk tsunami zone and erosion areas. In addition, Java, Sumatra and NTT are areas with the highest risk of landslides. The highest zone areas for drought risk is Java and Sumatra, and finally Java, Sumatra and Borneo are the highest zone areas for floods.

This data was presented by Professor Holder of the Faculty of Human Ecology of Bogor Agricultural University (FEMA IPB), Prof. Dr Euis Sunarti, during the press conference at the Baranangsiang, Bogor, on Thursday, 4 June 2015, prior her scientific oration. According to her, the results of the study show the importance of families and communities in Indonesia developing resilience to withstand adverse impacts of any disaster. Poor families suffer a higher percentage of loss and their recovery ability is low and long. Natural disaster risk is intimately connected to the processes of human development. Disasters put development at risk. Thus, it disrupts the national development program for national welfare.

"The evidence revealed the very limited coping strategies and disaster recovery capabilities for victims' families, while social support from extended family and neighbours are equally limited because in general are in the same socio-economic status. So disaster has disturbed welfare achievement programs of the families, and even their effort to meet the basic needs of the family, namely food security," he said.

A concern exists that resilience of families to withstand adverse impacts from any disaster is not an instantly occurrence but rather developed by a long-term processes built-in into their daily lives. The reality remains that resilience is demonstrated within individuals who can effectively and relatively easily navigate their way around crises and utilize effective methods of coping. The family resilience component is the belief system (mainly related to the value / meaning of the disaster / catastrophe), the quality of communication, and organizational patterns in the family.

"Currently, public awareness and disaster management agencies in the disaster-prone areas could improved their performance. They have increased their capacity, but the public are not aware about whether they are ready to serve. Based on the evaluation, most BNPB in the disaster areas have never been able to perform independently. However it doesn’t mean that no progress have been achieved, though very little have been made. In addition, improving their mental toughness is necessary for safety and understanding of the risk of disaster. The effectiveness for emergency response and post-disaster related to disaster risk reduction must be improved. Therefore, it is deemed necessary to create a coherence between disaster risk reduction and development programs to achieve the SDGs," he said.