Disaster-Prone Area in Indonesia and a Strategy to Mitigate Disasters

Indonesia is exceptionally vulnerable to disasters. Over two thousand natural hazards occur in this country annually and this number may increase in the future because of climate change and damaged environment. Therefore, the government must renew the map of disaster-prone area in Indonesia annually. 

In addition, the country should have a better disaster risk reduction strategy. Those steps are necessary because most of its 260-million population lives in disaster-prone areas in Indonesia. Consequently, this archipelago is more resilient to disaster.

A List of Disaster-Prone Area in Indonesia

Indonesia is prone to various natural hazards because its location is in the Pacific Ring Fire. Examples of recurrent disasters in Indonesia are earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. In addition, floods, landslides, and other weather-related disasters often hit this country.

However, those calamities only occur in particular places. Below are disaster-prone areas in Indonesia.

1. Earthquake-Prone Areas

Almost every day, earthquakes hit various provinces in Indonesia. Many of these earthquakes are in small or medium-scale magnitudes. However, destructive earthquakes also have a high potential to occur in this country.

In the last decades, this country has experienced several devastating earthquakes, such as the 2004 Aceh Earthquake and the 2006 Yogyakarta Earthquake. The report said over 60 million hectares of Indonesian land is vulnerable to earthquakes.

Moreover, over 160 million people of the total population live in the earthquake disaster-prone area in Indonesia. The earthquake-prone areas in this country are Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Nusa Tenggara, Maluku, and some provinces in Papua.

2. Tsunami-Prone Areas

Many coastal areas in Indonesia are vulnerable to tsunamis. The risk index for tsunamis in this country is 9.7 out of 10. Considering this high-risk index, it is no wonder that the deathly waves have killed thousands of people in several provinces in this country in the last century. 

Moreover, the destructive waves in this region can reach 30 m. According to research, the tsunami disaster-prone area in this country covers 1.18 million hectares of land. 

In addition, over 4,250,000 people live in this region. The most tsunami-prone zones in this country are the southern coast of Java, the western coast of Sumatra, and the western coast of Sulawesi.

3. Volcanic Eruption-Prone Areas

Indonesia has 130 active volcanoes. This number makes the archipelago a country with the highest concentration of volcanoes in the world. About half of them are in Sumatra, 45 active volcanoes are in Java, and the rest spread around Bali, Nusa Tenggara, and Sulawesi. 

The land around these volcanoes is exceptionally fertile and excellent for farming. It is not surprising that over one million people choose to live around Indonesia’s active volcanoes. 

4. Flood-Prone Areas

Many areas in Indonesia suffer from recurrent floods. They are typically urban areas with poor flood management systems and drainage. Each year, floods displace thousands of people, cause a large amount of financial loss, and kill over 50 people.

The flood disaster-prone area in Indonesia covers over 49.7 million hectares of land with over 109 million people living in this area. Some flood-prone areas in Indonesia are Jakarta, Central Java, East Java, West Java, West Sumatra, South Sulawesi, and North Kalimantan.

5. Landslide-Prone Areas

Landslides are the second most frequent disaster in Indonesia. About 79 million hectares of Indonesia’s land are in landslide-prone regions. Those areas are Bukit Barisan in Sumatra, southern and central parts of Java, Maluku, Papua, Sulawesi, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara.

6. Wildfire-Prone Areas

Wildfires are a complicated issue in Indonesia. This disaster frequently goes uncontrollably because of climate factors, El Nino, and human activities. Because of the severity of this hazard, people in other countries also feel the effects of the wildfires.

Almost 80 million hectares of Indonesia’s land are vulnerable to wildfires. This area is mostly in Kalimantan and Sumatra.

A New Strategy for Indonesia’s Disaster Risk Reduction

According to a report, Indonesia is the second most vulnerable country to natural hazards. Therefore, the nation must have excellent disaster-risk reduction strategies. One of the recommended strategies is adopting the cell broadcast in its disaster early warning system.

Cell broadcast technology allows local government agencies to disseminate a targeted disaster alert during or before a catastrophe. Therefore, people living in a disaster-prone area can get out of the hazard or take other actions to minimize the loss of lives and financial loss.

The cell broadcast is effective for alerting residents because it can send warnings to thousands of mobile phone users in a minute. In addition, this technology is cost-effective and easy to use. Government agencies do not need to have a database of phone numbers and credits to send the alert.

The disaster-prone area in Indonesia covers millions of hectares of land with almost 200 million people living in this area. Therefore, the Indonesian government must use cell broadcast machines in its disaster-risk reduction plan. These machines are available for purchase on smsbroadcaster.com.