1,889 Disasters in Indonesia Throughout 2024, Hydro-Meteorological Disasters Dominate
Indonesia is a unique location and can be considered as a center of disasters.
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - There were 1,889 natural in Indonesia throughout 2024 as of December 4th. Natural disasters dominated by hydro-meteorological disasters accounted for 98.84 percent, while geological disasters accounted for 1.16 percent. These natural disasters include floods, extreme weather, forests, land fires, and landslides.
Nuraini Rahma Hanifa, a researcher at the Geological Disaster Research Center of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), explained the disaster situations in Indonesia. "Indonesia is a unique location and can be considered as a center of disasters. Various disasters occur in Indonesia, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, floods, and tsunamis," Rahma said in a written statement on Tuesday, February 11, 2025.
She stated that earthquakes can be studied for their sources and characteristics in an interdisciplinary, collaborative manner, involving geodesy, geophysics, geology, geography, civil engineering, information technology, and planning. "The research results have become a national reference product as the Indonesian Earthquake Source and Hazard Map," Rahma said.
Rahma mentioned that earthquakes are sudden movements that occur within the Earth's crust or upper mantle. "In Indonesia, earthquakes can occur anywhere and potentially cause significant damage in a short time. Many earthquake events have occurred in Indonesia, such as the Aceh earthquake and tsunami (2004), the Palu earthquake (2018), and the Cianjur earthquake (2022)," she added.
With Indonesia's numerous earthquakes, innovation is needed for earthquake mitigation. "Installation of tsunami detectors, development of tsunami evacuation protocols, and disaster response simulations have been carried out, such as in the South Lebak region," Rahma explained.
In an earthquake, the self-rescue strategy includes the 3Bs: Drop, Cover, and Hold On. "Remain calm, protect your head, and pray. During an earthquake, seek shelter if possible, such as under a table. If there is no table, drop to the ground, and protect your head," she added.
According to Rahma, it is crucial to build education. There are three pillars in building disaster-resilient education, including safe school facilities, disaster management in schools, and disaster prevention and risk reduction education.
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