Disaster preparedness in earthquake affected communities on Lombok

On August 5, 2018, the Indonesian island of Lombok was affected by an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.9. The  aftershock followed on August 9, 2018. The effects of the earthquake have been devastating: North Lombok was the most severely affected by the earthquake with 466 dead and over 1,000 injured. The destruction of around 12,000 buildings left over 80 percent of the population homeless.

In the future, AWO International is supporting a disaster preparedness project to better prepare people for earthquakes and other natural events. In this project we are cooperating with three local and resident organizations - Gravitasi Mataram (Gerakan Revitalisasi Kemanusian), ADBMI Foundation and Perkumpulan Panca Karsa (PPK) - in three communities. Under the supervision of SHEEP Indonesia, the local partner organizations implemented information, training and advisory programs in the communities they serve in the districts of North and East Lombok.

This includes the establishment and training of disaster preparedness committees, joint risk analyses of the community members as well as the practice of risk-conscious behavior and the use of modern telecommunications applications. In a particularly affected village, the supply of clean drinking water is ensured by installing household filters.

Since March 2020, the focus has also been on specific activities to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. In addition to education, these include the production and distribution of protective material such as hand washing facilities, masks and disinfectants.

Representatives of the local administrations are involved in all measures, which also increases their knowledge and strengthens the partnership with the communities in their area of competence.

Educational work at schools 

The children's desire to learn face to face encourages the stakeholders to also raise children's and young people's awareness of the pandemic and the threat of earthquakes. In an information and education campaign, the students were taught in a playful and entertaining way about types of catastrophes, concrete rules of behavior in the event of an earthquake, local instruments for early warning and hygiene rules to prevent the transmission of the corona virus. This initiative has also helped to alleviate the trauma that some children have experienced as a result of the earthquake and the pandemic.