Disaster Risk Reduction Efforts Research Articles

The Role of Merapi FM Community Radio in Disaster Mitigation At Merapi Slope Residential Area Cluntang, Musuk, Boyolali

The purpose of this study was to determine the role of Merapi FM community radio in reducing disaster risk in the potential disaster exposure area of the Musuk Boyolali sub-district. This research method is empirical research or field research with a qualitative approach. Qualitative research is research that produces descriptive data in the form of written or spoken words from people and behaviour that can be understood. This approach is data collection in the form of oral, written, and also in the form of image documentation. Data from a qualitative descriptive approach can come from interviews, photographs, field notes, video recordings, memos and official documents. The results showed that the community plays an active role in disaster risk reduction efforts in the Cluntang area, namely through disaster response training, environmental preservation, trauma healing, and regional arts and culture. Based on the results of the research, the role of Merapi FM community radio in mitigation and disaster risk reduction in the Cluntang area is (1) Carrying out its role and function by facilitating the needs of the community to reduce the risk of the Merapi disaster, (2) Mobilising the community to be directly involved in all activities, starting from on-air and off-air activities.

Mapping Lightning Risk in Mexico: Integrating Natural Hazard and Social Vulnerability

Abstract Lightning around the world poses a significant threat to life, infrastructure, and economic sectors. This study evaluates lightning risk at the municipal level in Mexico, recognizing the interplay of hazard and vulnerability in risk estimation. Despite declining lightning-related fatalities, possibly attributed to demographic shifts and improved urban infrastructure, persistent social vulnerability exists, particularly among rural populations engaged in labor-intensive agriculture with lower education levels. We estimate a risk map for lightning-related fatality risk in Mexico, where we identify high-risk regions along the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Pacific coast, central and southeastern Mexico, marked by elevated lightning days and social vulnerability. The risk map integrates hazard and social vulnerability, capturing the distribution of fatality incidents, and it reveals that 82.1% of incidents occurred in municipalities categorized as “high” or “very high” risk. This result emphasizes the need to consider both physical hazard and social vulnerability for a comprehensive assessment of lightning risk. This study contributes to understanding lightning risk in Mexico, providing crucial insights at the municipality level for informing policymaking and targeting risk mitigation strategies. By highlighting the interrelation of hazard and social vulnerability, this research aligns with broader goals of enhancing local resilience and safety in the face of natural hazards, highlighting the ongoing need for disaster risk reduction efforts.

Leveraging Artificial Neural Networks for Robust Landslide Susceptibility Mapping: A Geospatial Modeling Approach in the Ecologically Sensitive Nilgiri District, Tamil Nadu

Landslides pose a significant threat to the lives and livelihoods of marginalised communities residing in rural areas and the delicate ecological balance of the environment. Implementing advanced technologies is crucial for improving hazard risk assessment and enhancing preparedness measures in regions characterised by diverse topography and complex geological formations. Geospatial applications and modelling techniques have emerged as indispensable in mitigating landslide risks, particularly in environmentally sensitive areas. This study presents a comprehensive approach to landslide susceptibility mapping in the Nilgiri District of Tamil Nadu, India, leveraging the power of Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and integrating multi-dimensional geospatial datasets. Integrating ANN-based modelling and geospatial techniques offers significant advantages in terms of statistical robustness, reproducibility, and the ability to analyse the complex interplay of factors influencing landslide hazards quantitatively. The methodology involves rigorous pre-processing and integrating spatial data, including landslide event occurrences as the dependent variable and ten independent parameters influencing landslide susceptibility. These parameters encompass elevation, slope aspect, slope degree, distance to roads, land use patterns, geomorphology, lithology, drainage density, lineament density, and rainfall distribution. Feature extraction and selection techniques are employed to effectively model the complex interactions between these factors and landslide occurrences. This process identifies the most relevant variables influencing landslide susceptibility, enhancing the model's predictive capabilities. The state-of-the-art ANNs are trained using historical landslide occurrence data and the selected influencing factors, enabling the development of a robust and accurate landslide susceptibility model. The performance of the developed model is rigorously evaluated using a comprehensive suite of metrics, including accuracy, precision, and the Area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. Preliminary results indicate that the ANN-based landslide susceptibility model outperforms traditional zonation methods, demonstrating higher accuracy and reliability in predicting landslide-prone areas. The resulting Landslide Susceptibility Map (LSM) categorises the study area into five distinct hazard zones, ranging from very high (664.1 km2), high (598.9 km2), moderate (639.7 km2), low (478.9 km2) and to very low (170.9 km2) . Notably, the eastern and central regions of the district emerge as particularly vulnerable to landslide occurrences. The study's findings have far-reaching implications for disaster risk reduction efforts, land-use planning, and sustainable development strategies in the ecologically sensitive Nilgiri District and beyond.

Small Island Risks: Research Reflections for Disaster Anthropologists and Climate Ethnographers

Disasters and climate-related events, including tropical storms, droughts, coastal erosion, and ocean acidification, threaten small island nations. Given the urgency of reducing disaster risks and the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations, this reflection essay pursues three objectives. First, it highlights the role of anthropology, ethnography, and multi-sited research in exploring disaster impacts, climate crises, and public policy in island communities. It then highlights national planning and inter-regional activities to build awareness of various risk reduction efforts by island nations and multi-governmental organizations. This article concludes with discussion prompts to engage researchers, scholars, students, and practitioners studying and working in small island nations. Due to the growing interest in climate equity and justice, this paper argues that anthropologists can offer valuable methodologies and approaches to develop transdisciplinary and nuanced insights into researching disaster risk reduction efforts and climate policy networks in and across island nations.

Understanding the Contribution of Conventional Media in Earthquake Risk Communication

To mitigate the damage from and prepare for disasters, individuals and communities should be involved in the disaster risk reduction efforts. Communicating the risk effectively is the essential step of this involvement. Risk communication is a multidisciplinary field. Disaster managers have to work closely with the media, among other partners, but there is a gap in their understanding of each other’s roles. This study aims to explore the process of publishing and broadcasting earthquake information through the experiences of media professionals, to understand how journalists and news organizations function before and after disasters, and to provide evidence to help bridge the gap between disaster managers and/or public health authorities and disaster journalists and/or news organizations., especially in earthquake preparedness. Thirteen in-depth interviews were conducted with editors/journalists from national newspapers and TV channels. A good context for investigating these issues is afforded by the megacity Istanbul and the Turkish media. Turkey is a land of earthquakes. A further strong earthquake is expected to hit in the near future. The findings, which gave valuable hints for better collaboration, are presented according to the focus of the question guide: time of and norms for publishing or broadcasting news or information about earthquakes; content of the news or information; disaster journalism and guidelines.

Evaluating Tropical Cyclone-Induced Flood and Surge Risks for Vanuatu by Assessing Location Hazard Susceptibility

Tropical cyclones (TCs) can be devastating events for vulnerable countries like Vanuatu, impacting their population, livelihoods, and infrastructure, leaving the country in need of aid and recovery. Despite this, comprehensive risk information on the nuanced impacts of each region is not well understood. Every TC event is different, and understanding the potential for impact at each location empowers decision makers in the lead-up to an event or during off-season planning to make more informed decisions to direct disaster risk reduction efforts. TC hazard model data typically describe intensity and likelihood, which can be fed into risk assessment frameworks to describe probabilistic risk. This study instead uses freely available remote sensing data to create proxies for the TC hazards of storm surge and flooding and to describe only the intensity of the hazard if the event occurs at the location. This hazard susceptibility index is fed into a risk assessment framework with Vanuatu exposure and vulnerability data for domains of populations, housing, and roads. These methods allow for the risk to be estimated for each month, as well as during specific historical time periods of TC Pam, TC Harold, and the TCs Judy and Kevin, enabling future impact validation. The results show households to have the highest risk, followed by roads and population domains, while a TC-induced surge risk is overall higher than TC-induced flooding, particularly in the road domain. The results, however, show a likely underestimation of event hazards and an overestimation of Port Vila’s resistance to impacts, which is a subject of future investigation and validation.

Enhancing Urban Resilience: Strategic Management and Action Plans for Cyclonic Events through Socially Constructed Risk Processes

Cities will face increasing challenges due to the impacts of global climate change, particularly in the form of cyclonic events, necessitating a deeper understanding and the establishment of effective response mechanisms at both institutional and citizen levels. In this research, we tested the efficiency of crowdsourcing in fostering participatory resilience and improving urban management. The main aim was to design novel and accurate proactive response strategies and mitigate the adverse effects of cyclonic wind events through volunteerism, citizen science, and urban science. To achieve this goal, as a case study, the municipality of Soledad, Colombia was used. This research employed a two-phase methodological approach: (i) initially evaluating the spatial distribution of emergency response resources, and (ii) developing a geo-referenced survey to map, systematize, and categorize data and outcomes. A total of three hundred and seventy-eight residents across five neighborhoods in Soledad, which have experienced a high frequency of atmospheric wind phenomena over the past two decades, were surveyed. The results indicate that the crowdsourcing mechanism effectively enhanced the empirical understanding of atmospheric wind events in Soledad, facilitating the establishment of a geo-referenced volunteer network for real-time responses. Additionally, this study shed light on previously undocumented challenges, in terms of reducing the number of people affected, and the actions that would lead to improved urban development to reduce the impacts of cyclonic events, emphasizing the significance of citizen science in the social construction of risk and disaster risk reduction (DDR) efforts.

Evaluation of the Pangandaran District BPBD Policy in Disaster Risk Reduction Efforts in Pangandaran District

This study assesses the performance of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) in Pangandaran Regency by analyzing its policies and reviewing disaster reduction reports. Utilizing a literature review method, with a focus on BPBD Pangandaran Regency's policy documents, the evaluation links the Strategic Plan (Renstra) to outcomes in the Performance Accountability Report (LAKIP). The Renstra outlines disaster prevention, emergency response, and post-disaster policies, translated into programs to enhance the region's disaster management capacity, measured by the Regional Resilience Index. Despite an improved index attributed to successful handling of 125 disasters in 2022, including fires, tornadoes, landslides, floods, and earthquakes, the study notes challenges such as a lack of updates in crucial documents and insufficient human resources impacting BPBD Pangandaran's performance. While the agency has achieved a 100% performance realization in various programs, attention to document updates and resource allocation is essential for more efficient disaster management in Pangandaran Regency.

Investigating Vulnerability, Adaptation, and Resilience: A Comprehensive Review within the Context of Climate Change

This review seeks to enhance the understanding of the critical concepts of vulnerability, adaptation, and resilience within the context of global environmental challenges, with a particular focus on climate change. Climate change is characterized by rising global temperatures and an increase in extreme weather events, making the comprehension and addressing of these concepts crucial for effective adaptation strategies. Despite widespread recognition of the interconnectedness of vulnerability, adaptation, and resilience, there remains a gap in a comprehensive understanding of how these concepts interrelate. Through synthesizing existing literature, this review provides a detailed examination of their definitions and the interrelationships among vulnerability, adaptation, resilience, and climate-related disasters. Additionally, it explores the impact of climate change on future disaster risk reduction efforts by analyzing the nexus between climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Key findings highlight the necessity of incorporating social, institutional, economic, and environmental factors into adaptation planning and call for innovative approaches to boost adaptive capacity and resilience. This review not only furthers the discourse in research, policy, and practice in this vital area but also offers strategic insights for developing more resilient and adaptive societies amidst the challenges posed by climate change.

Appraising competency gaps among UNESCO-designated heritage site actors in disaster risk reduction innovations

Communities residing in UNESCO-designated sites, characterised by outstanding universal values, face heightened vulnerability during disasters, necessitating innovative Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) strategies. The critical role of well-equipped UNESCO site actors in DRR necessary for achieving the goals of broader international frameworks such as Agenda 2030 and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) warrants this needs assessment study. This study uses a descriptive survey design to assess the competency gaps of UNESCO site actors, including managers and staff, for effective utilisation of DRR innovations (DRRI). Employing the Borich Needs Assessment Model and Ranked Discrepancy Model, an online questionnaire garnered 141 responses from 59 countries. Descriptive statistics, significance tests (at p < .05), correlation tests, Mean Weighted Discrepancy Scores, and Ranked Discrepancy Scores yielded noteworthy findings. Despite recognising the importance of DRRI, respondents demonstrated competence lags, emphasizing the need for tailored training programs. Competency gaps were identified across all 14 listed DRRI, with top priorities including disaster prevention radio, telemetry systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, GIS, remote sensing, resilient materials, and disaster risk insurance. Enhancing competencies in DRRI presents a strategic approach to bolstering disaster preparedness, management, and risk reduction efforts, aligning with global conservation and sustainability goals.

Disaster risk reduction in elementary schools in flood-prone areas (Case: disaster risk reduction in Grogol flood-prone areas, Indonesia)

Floods disaster have caused much damage and disruption to the continuity of education. Therefore, disaster risk reduction efforts must be carried out, especially in the school environment. This study aims to analyze how Disaster Risk Reduction efforts are conducted in elementary schools in the Grogol flood-prone area, Indonesia. This research is quantitative research with a survey design. Data collection is carried out using questionnaires and documentation. The instrument used is a closed questionnaire with indicators of Disaster Risk Reduction, including knowledge and attitudes, school policies, preparedness planning, and resource mobility. The population in this study were five elementary schools located in flood-prone areas of Grogol, Indonesia, including SDN Madegondo 1, SDN Madegondo 3, SDN Pandean 1, SDN Kadokan 1, and SDN Pandean 2. Respondents in this study were 40 teaching staff who consisted of principals, homeroom teachers, and teachers from each elementary school. The data analysis technique used is descriptive statistical data analysis. The results of this study were shocking; even though floods overflow the river almost every year, all schools in the flood-prone areas were classified as in the low class in implementing Disaster Risk Reduction for flood disasters. One factor that has a dominant influence was the absence of an official policy from the government that officially regulates the implementation of Disaster Risk Reduction for flood disasters in the region. The results of this study are expected to be used as a basis for implementing disaster risk reduction by elementary schools against floods.

Disaster risk reduction efforts through education in Indonesia: A literature review

Indonesia is a country that is prone to natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. To reduce the risk of disasters, efforts through education are important. This article aims to conduct a literature review regarding disaster risk reduction through education in Indonesia. Education has an important role in increasing public awareness, increasing knowledge, and developing the skills needed to reduce the impact of disasters and increase responsiveness in dealing with them. This research wants to find out other forms of approaches that have been implemented to reduce disaster risk in education in Indonesia and find out what the results are. A review of existing literature shows that there are 3 efforts to reduce disaster risk through education, namely formal education, informal education and non-formal education. The research results show that the three educational pathways are implemented quite well in Indonesia. Forms of disaster risk reduction through education include integration of learning in schools, local wisdom, training, outreach and disaster mitigation simulations from disaster awareness activist groups and from certain institutions/institutions to the community, as well as disaster mitigation programs from community groups themselves. To reduce disaster risk in Indonesia, sustainable and coordinated efforts are needed between the government, educational institutions and the community. Increasing the role of education in protecting and preparing people for disasters is important to minimize the negative impacts of disasters in the future.

Geomorphology mapping and landslide susceptibility for disaster risk reduction and sustainability environment in the Sub DAS Maspo, Mt. Welirang, East Java, Indonesia

Landslides are still problematic for areas with rough surface shapes and high rainfall. Landslides are still causing human life losses, so mitigation efforts for disaster risk reduction must be prioritized. The purpose of this study is geomorphological mapping and landslide hazard mapping as a basis for disaster risk reduction efforts. The method used integrates remote sensing data using geographic information systems. Geomorphology mapping is processed and analyzed using four geomorphological approaches, while for landslide susceptibility maps are analyzed using the Weight of Evidence (WoE) method using existing landslide variables and 17 landslide control factors. The geomorphological mapping results show that in the Maspo sub-watershed, there are 25 landform units based on geomorphological mapping. There are five classes of landslide vulnerability indices, i.e very low index (0.001-0.341) namely 9.38%; low index (0.341-0.471) that is 26.18%; moderate index (0.471-0.584) that is 28.49%; high index (0.584-0.741) that is 23.94% and very high index (0.714-1) that is 12.02%. The accuracy of the landslide hazard map results is 88%, indicating that the landslide hazard map has good accuracy. Dominant landslides of 26.98% and 23.59% occurred in the HS2V1/ME landform, which is the middle slope of the steep hills of the lava eruption of the 2nd Mt. Welirang with moderate geomorphic processes and HS2V1/VSE which is the middle slope of the steep hills of the 2nd eruption of Welirang volcano with the process strong geomorphism. The results of geomorphology mapping and landslide susceptibility can be used as an information base for disaster risk reduction strategies and sustainable environmental management.

Urgency of disaster resilient village-geosite program: unveiling the critical need for strengthening connections between geosites and village communities

The Disaster Resilient Village Program (Destana) is a program that held by National and Regency Disaster Management Agency. However, the connection of Destana to the holistical aspect such as geologic landscape aspect is a discoursive material that appeals to many disaster management practitioners, scholars, international donors or governments. This study aims to explore the urgency of Disaster Resilient Geosites-Village Program from the risk condition, regulation, and community perception. Geopark Jogja and Geopark Gunung Sewu with their 20 geosites was purposively selected as the site of investigation. A qualitative research method involving focus group interviews (FGI), interviews, risk analysis using InaRisk, and regulatory analysis was used to explore and capture urgency of Disaster Resilient Village Program in geosites context, that called as Disaster Resilient Geosites-Village Program. Based on the results, several essential urgency were underlined for all approaches as follows: (1) all village with geosites have high to medium risks of disasters (2) geosites facing decline in the physical and environmental carrying capacity, which consequently leads to increased disasters risks for the community villages (3) local wisdom that develops in geosite areas is beneficial for disaster risk reduction efforts, and (4) well-conserved geosites support the local economic resiliency through tourism and geoproducts. These urgencies are expected to improve the community resiliency through a program aimed at reducing disaster risk through the mainstreaming of geosite functions into village-level policies and actions to enhance community resilience. This urgency study can stimulate community-level pilot projects that can be replicated in other areas or even elevated to government-level policies

The Urgency of Establishing a Natural Disaster Management Agency in Indonesia

Severe damage and large losses will be the result of the earthquake. Thus, pre-disaster activities to reduce the impact of carried out by various parties such as the central and local governments, relevant agencies, and society are very important. Therefore, the central government will make a design “action against earthquakes” as a master plan for dealing with disasters earthquakes, including pre-disaster measures, emergency response, and post-disaster stages. To measure the impact of these disaster risk reduction efforts, the central government will set one goal that can be measured quantitatively for a certain period of time. Observations of the achievements of these efforts will be continued regularly basis. Moreover, participation and coordination with local government are very important to achieve this goal, so the local government concerned must take responsibility for developing regional plans that are in line with the coping strategy of national disaster. The methode use qualitative method. The conclusion for this research are regional government holding autonomy mandates can take a look at intensively the advantages of providing disaster insurance premium subsidies compared to having to perform post-disaster rehabilitation without the insurance industry’s contributions that if a disaster occurs, the government can share with insurance in dealing with diverse agreed matters. Regional Original (PAD) for Disaster Insurance Premiums for groups in disaster-prone regions to perform the mandate of local autonomy.

Community-based early warning systems in a changing climate: an empirical evaluation from coastal central Vietnam

ABSTRACT Climate-related hazards severely threaten human lives and livelihoods and are projected to increase due to global warming. Early warning systems are essential in mitigating losses, and community-based early warning systems (CBEWS) aim to empower at-risk communities for better preparedness and response. Though CBEWS have been implemented in several countries, the assessment of their effectiveness remains limited. To address this research gap, we assess existing CBEWS practices in the Thua Thien Hue (TTH) province in Central Vietnam in terms of community capacity and the process of establishing CBEWS. We use qualitative data from focus group discussions (FGDs) in six coastal communes with 133 participants representing different community groups. FGD results were transcribed and processed with the software Nvivo12. The findings reveal that CBEWS have significantly improved disaster risk reduction efforts and promoted the active participation of communities in TTH. However, there is also evidence of insufficient communities capacities and ownership. Gaps in the establishment of CBEWS stem from constraints in community engagement and investments in the system at the grassroots level. Findings further show that long-term political and financial commitment from the government and an enabling environment for community commitment, rather than the support from outsiders, determine the sustainability of CBEWS.

Challenges against the Achievement of Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies in African States

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies play a pivotal role in formalizing and enhancing the efficacy of disaster risk reduction efforts. The overall objective of this study was to assess the progress the African Union member states are making in developing DRR strategies as required by Target E of the Sendai Framework. The study used both qualitative and quantitative approaches where an in-depth desk review of DRR strategies and online questionnaires were administered to 53 respondents. The findings shows about 68 % of the AU member states have national strategies and 35% have sub national strategies but generally there is sluggish progress in updating DRR strategies in accordance with Sendai Framework Target E. An array of formidable challenges has come to light, casting a shadow over the seamless execution of these strategies. Weak technical and institutional capacities, paucity of financial resources, limited decentralization of DRR initiatives, and governance deficiencies emerge as pivotal obstacles that warrant immediate attention. In light of these findings, it is imperative for African governments and their collaborative partners to expedite the development of risk-informed strategies. By doing so, they can successfully actualize the visionary objectives set forth within the Sendai Framework.

Differences in disaster warning and community engagement between families with and without members suffering from chronic Diseases: The mediating role of satisfaction with warning service

Early warning systems in disasters are crucial for life preservation and loss mitigation, endorsed globally by various UN agencies, governments, and disaster researchers. However, the social aspects pose significant challenges to the success of early warning. Using survey data from Sanya, a coastal city in China, our study explores the relationship between early warning services and community engagement. The primary warning channels are social media (SMS and WeChat), the Internet, and TV. These mediums, along with traditional and mass media, foster higher community engagement, like volunteer service and disaster risk reduction efforts. Satisfaction with warning service mediates these connections. Interestingly, families with chronic disease members are more likely to engage in community activities and utilize the Internet and social media for warnings. Notably, different patterns emerge when comparing families with and without chronic disease members, especially regarding Internet and social media usage. This study enhances our understanding of public adaptation to disaster warnings and provides insight for early warning services in the face of increasing climate change impacts and meteorological disasters.

ZONATION OF SEISMIC VULNERABILITY LEVELS IN SOUTH BENGKULU REGENCY, INDONESIA FOR DISASTER-BASED REGIONAL PLANNING

The accurate prediction and prevention of earthquakes remains challenging. Consequently, the primary approach to mitigate the impact of earthquakes is through disaster risk reduction efforts. One significant strategy involves conducting seismic vulnerability analyses based on disaster scenarios. This study aims to identify and map areas with varying levels of seismic vulnerability, analyzing the factors contributing to vulnerability in the South Bengkulu Regency. Secondary data, including peak ground acceleration (PGA) values, were collected, along with microtremor data obtained through the Horizontal to Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) method. The recorded microtremor data serve as input parameters for PGA, Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI), Seismic Vulnerability Index (Kg), shear wave velocity (Vs), and the time-averaged shear wave velocity for the first 30 m depths (Vs30) values. The findings reveal that, overall, seismic vulnerability in the South Bengkulu Regency can be categorized as low. However, specific areas, particularly in the southwestern and northeastern zones, exhibit relatively higher levels of vulnerability. The heightened vulnerability in these areas is attributed to elevated PGA values, despite the region's generally high soil density, which acts as a mitigating factor against earthquake threats.

Predicting Landslide Using Machine Learning Techniques

In mountainous areas prone to landslides, it’s crucial to map out where these hazardous events are likely to occur to mitigate risks effectively. This study focuses employing an integrated approach to assess landslide susceptibility using Random Forest (RF), Stacking, Vote, AdaBoostM1, and Bagging. 13 factors influencing landslide occurrence are identified for modeling purposes. To evaluate and compare the models’ performance, multiple statistical methods are employed. The analysis highlights the effectiveness of employing machine learning models, Random Forest (RF), Stacking, Bagging, and Vote methods. The results demonstrate the efficiency of the models in accurately predicting landslide susceptibility. The study suggests that similar hybrid models can be effectively utilized in other sensitive regions with comparable geo-environmental conditions for landslide susceptibility studies. By integrating various techniques and leveraging ensemble algorithms, these models offer improved accuracy and reliability in assessing landslide hazards. This comprehensive approach provides valuable insights for disaster management and risk reduction efforts in landslideprone areas worldwide.