Perceptions and adaptation strategies of the community against flood risk at the estuary riverbank of Bone River, Gorontalo Province

Abstract

Indonesia is a country prone to natural disasters that are influenced by natural factors and human factors. Natural disasters that commonly occur in Indonesia are floods, sea tides, landslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, and drought. Among these disasters, floods are the most frequent natural disasters in various parts of Indonesia. During 2015 there was 1732 incidence of disasters in Indonesia, 92.67% of the disasters are landslides, tornado, and flood (Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency – BNPB, (2016). Refer to BNPB (2018), during 2017, 979 incidences of flood disaster occurred in Indonesia where 2.518.578 people were affected by the flood disaster. Considering that flood is a common disaster in Indonesia, people should have flood preparedness. This research was conducted at the estuary of Bone River Gorontalo Province. The Bone River is one of the longest rivers in Gorontalo Province that cross Bone Bolango Regency and Gorontalo City. There are many communities are living in river estuaries that belong to densely populated areas, so this research is very important to understand perception and adaptation strategy of society to flood disaster. This research was conducted by distributing questionnaires to the community and analyzed quantitatively. The results show that most respondents know that they live in flood-prone areas, floods can cause various impacts, and floods can be prevented and minimized. The research result is expected to be useful in the decision-making process for decreasing flood disaster risk at the estuary of Bone River Gorontalo Province.