tag:theconversation.com,2011:/nz/topics/palu-earthquake-60506/articlesPalu Earthquake – The Conversation2018-10-15T12:34:13Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1047032018-10-15T12:34:13Z2018-10-15T12:34:13ZSulawesi tsunami: how social media (and a lullaby) can save lives in future disasters<p>Social media use is widespread in Indonesia, so people filming everyday scenes can sometimes inadvertently capture extraordinary environmental events. Of the “viral” videos to emerge of the recent <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2018/oct/09/tsunami-floods-into-indonesian-city-in-terrifying-new-footage-video">earthquake and tsunami</a> in Sulawesi, for example, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpFOAsN2Ppw">one in particular stood out</a>: it was of a man’s initially desperate calls to people below him as the tsunami approached Palu City – and then his sobs of despair after the wave struck.</p>
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<p>The man’s evident distress has universal resonance; we all share in his helplessness at the devastation wrought within minutes. But footage like this could also help to change local cultural attitudes to such catastrophes and the risks posed by them.</p>
<h2>Why did this happen?</h2>
<p>Making sense of disasters involves exploring a complex mix of explanations. It is important to disentangle notions of causal chains from broader issues of blame and responsibility. Many in developed nations focus on the possible <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-45663054">failure of warning systems</a> and a “forensic risk” investigation of the events leading up to the event. But people may also struggle to understand how these factors are not the primary concern of many Indonesians after a disaster.</p>
<p>For a large number of Indonesians, questions about why such things happen are answered not by science, but by faith. Faith requires an acceptance of suffering and the belief that such catastrophes are a test from God. For those who look at it this way, why this happened <a href="https://www.ifrc.org/Global/Documents/Secretariat/201410/WDR%202014.pdf">is not explained by measurements</a> of the sea bed and the details of monitoring system technoscience, nor is it made clearer by regarding science and religion as mutually exclusive ways of framing disasters.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, it is important for all to recognise that the high death toll in Palu was due in part to low preparedness. Many people failed to protect themselves because they weren’t clear about the threat posed by tsunamis after an earthquake and how deadly they can be. Regardless of the information that people had in Palu after the earthquake and whether they trusted it, the outcome would have been better if <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/the-latest-fate-of-beach-festival-goers-unknown-since-quake">more people had moved away from the shoreline</a>.</p>
<p>The fact that many people seemingly failed to do this is perhaps surprising given raw memories of the devastating <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/11303114/2004-Boxing-Day-tsunami-facts.html">2004 Boxing Day tsunami</a>, which devastated parts of the Indonesian island of Sumatra and elsewhere. Despite this, even people in Banda Aceh – one of the worst affected areas in 2004 – remain vulnerable to tsunamis as shown by <a href="https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141226-tsunami-indonesia-catastrophe-banda-aceh-warning-science/">events after another earthquake in 2012</a>. On that occasion, instead of following evacuation routes or going to tsunami shelters, people tried to go home first or pick up their children from school, creating traffic jams and chaos in the process. </p>
<h2>Inevitable?</h2>
<p>But widespread loss of life should not be accepted as inevitable during such extreme events. And while early warning systems can play their part in this, so can less technological, cultural solutions. </p>
<p>Take the case of Simeulue, an Indonesian island that was also struck by the 2004 tsunami. While Aceh province was one of the worst hit areas, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6435979.stm">very few on the island died</a> compared to other communities in the region. This was, in part, because of the tradition of <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Hj5vDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA251&lpg=PA251&dq=smong+disaster+risk+reduction+sagala&source=bl&ots=s3s_MCAJXZ&sig=MU7Dvsfw02kaBeaemn8qyncgZN8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjS5L2jgYHeAhXoCMAKHS2uDi4Q6AEwAnoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=smong%20disaster%20risk%20reduction%20sagala&f=false">“smong”</a>. </p>
<p>This is a lullaby sung by grandmothers to children to tell them to run for higher ground when an earthquake occurs – and this is exactly what many people did because the appropriate action had become part of their disaster culture. Of course, globalisation means that cultural change is accelerating in Indonesia, but sometimes the most obviously scalable solutions, such as smong, are also the simplest. </p>
<p>The Indonesian Agency for for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG) <a href="http://apps.bmkg.go.id/">has a phone app</a> that sends very quick alerts about seismic activity and potential tsunamis to those using it. We saw warnings about the earthquake and the potential for a tsunami in Sulawesi on our own phones from the relative safety of Bandung, 1,000km away on the island of Java – and were concerned mainly that people would respond and evacuate efficiently. The subsequent distressing impact in Palu shows that such warnings can be useless if people are not aware of, fail to trust or understand them, or are ill-prepared to know what to do in the event of one.</p>
<h2>The need for collective anger</h2>
<p>The language of disaster in post-colonial times is, <a href="https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/tsunami-hits-small-sulawesi-city-after-major-quake-casualties-unknown">somewhat ironically, British</a>. The overriding message is: “Keep calm and carry on.” People are told to be patient as they wait for aid and assistance. </p>
<p>The Indonesian people have enormous reserves of resilience and impressive powers of recovery, which is good news for the region’s ability to rebuild. But while anger is not a prominent characteristic of Indonesians, in this case it could be productive. </p>
<p>Indonesia is now officially in a national election period and it is vital that pressure is brought to bear on politicians to invest properly in disaster preparedness. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-HRYoO5qHE">President Jokowi twice visited the disaster scene</a> in a familiar ritual now widely expected from politicians who are briefly in the international spotlight. This looks good on television and plays well to the electorate, but real care requires genuine investment of thought, time and money. Talking with Indonesian colleagues, there is an awareness that disaster preparedness needs to be politicised as part of a broader cultural change. </p>
<p>Organisations such as the <a href="https://www.gfdrr.org/sites/default/files/publication/country-profile-2016-indoensia.pdf">Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR)</a> reports that the Indonesian government “spends US$300m to US$500m annually on post-disaster reconstruction” and “costs during major disaster years reach 0.3% of national GDP and as high as 45% of GDP at the provincial level”.</p>
<p>Budgets clearly need to increase, but these funds should also be used to do things differently – for example, by focusing more on people’s awareness in a way that engages better and more proactively with communities and their existing cultures. As disasters happen at a local level, local government should take a central role in this. Existing socialisation programmes are not working and even if everyone on the beachfront in Palu city had the BMKG app on their phone, would they have known exactly what to do to keep themselves and others safe?</p>
<h2>Understand the message</h2>
<p>Disaster monitoring and warning systems are useless if people do not understand the message, do not trust the messenger, and do not have safe places to go. Indonesia could become a world leader in disaster preparedness, not necessarily by mimicking the disaster culture of <a href="http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2058390,00.html">countries like Japan</a>, but by harnessing the creative energy and growing willingness of young people in particular to challenge the way things are done in their country. The key is to come up with solutions that best serve and make most sense to the communities they are meant to protect. </p>
<p>Collective anger and action among younger people – and their use of social media – could be the first step towards the Palu video, and others like it, inciting a national cultural transformation in which disasters like this are not just seen as another, inevitable fact of life, but are instead spoken about and planned for in ways that will actually save lives on a local level.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104703/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Gavin Brent Sullivan receives funding from The British Academy for the research project "Seismic Cities Bandung". Dr. Sullivan is a senior research fellow of the Resilience Development Initiative think-tank in Bandung, Indonesia. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Saut Sagala receives funding from The British Academy for the research project "Seismic Cities Bandung". Dr. Sagala is affiliated with School of Architecture, Planning and Policy Development, Bandung Institute of Technology. He is also a senior research fellow at the Resilience Development Initiative, think-tank in Bandung, Indonesia</span></em></p>Developed countries focus on technology, but lullabies can sometimes have a greater effect.Gavin Brent Sullivan, Reader in Identity and Resilience In Communities and Organisations, Coventry UniversitySaut Sagala, Assistant Professor, School of Architecture, Planning and Policy Development, Institut Teknologi BandungLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1044702018-10-09T10:45:22Z2018-10-09T10:45:22ZAn Indonesian city’s destruction reverberates across Sulawesi<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239802/original/file-20181008-72103-gkh1tb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A bridge in Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, was destroyed in the recent earthquake and tsunami.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/The-Week-That-Was-in-Asia-Photo-Gallery/22521825e2b749239f94ba97a2005d1b/318/0">AP Photo/Aaron Favila</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I’ve been visiting the city of Palu in <a href="https://sulteng.bps.go.id/">Central Sulawesi</a>, a province in Indonesia, for the past 38 years as part of <a href="https://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/122/">my anthropological fieldwork</a>.</p>
<p>So it was particularly harrowing for me to read about the <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/multimedia/2018/09/28/video-shows-tsunami-hitting-palu-after-7-7-magnitude-quake.html">7.7 magnitude earthquake</a> and tsunami <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/09/photos-from-the-deadly-earthquake-and-tsunami-in-indonesia/571765/">that decimated the city</a> on Sept. 28. </p>
<p>The full scope of the devastation hasn’t come into focus, <a href="http://time.com/5417970/death-toll-indonesia-natural-disasters/">but thousands have been displaced, died or gone missing</a>. </p>
<p>What we do know is that it will take years for Palu, the region’s capital city, <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/10/01/chaos-in-palu-after-quake-as-survivors-deal-with-hunger-thirst.html">to recover and rebuild</a>. But while the devastation might be most visible in Palu, the province’s rural areas could ultimately end up suffering the most.</p>
<h2>The hub of Sulawesi</h2>
<p>Indonesia, a country made up of 13,000 islands populated by <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/indonesia/overview">263 million people</a>, has over 300 different ethnic groups in 34 provinces. </p>
<p>Sulawesi Island, once known as the Celebes, has <a href="https://sulteng.bps.go.id/">18 million residents</a> spread over six provinces in an area that’s roughly the <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Florida+square+miles&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1">size of Florida</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239801/original/file-20181008-72110-13lfyf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239801/original/file-20181008-72110-13lfyf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239801/original/file-20181008-72110-13lfyf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=662&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239801/original/file-20181008-72110-13lfyf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=662&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239801/original/file-20181008-72110-13lfyf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=662&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239801/original/file-20181008-72110-13lfyf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239801/original/file-20181008-72110-13lfyf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239801/original/file-20181008-72110-13lfyf3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=832&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Sulawesi has six provinces, one of which is Central Sulawesi, where Palu is located.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Sulawesi_map.PNG">Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Because of its unique shape – it looks like a lopsided spider with thin tendrils shooting off in various directions – travel to various parts of the island can be difficult, and many regions are isolated.</p>
<p>When I first arrived in Palu in 1980, it was a quaint city of only 30,000 people. White picket fences surrounded residents’ homes, and colonial-era architecture lined the main thoroughfares. Situated on the shimmering, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/a_dit/2676282177">emerald-colored waters of Palu Bay</a>,
the city was flanked by <a href="https://foursquare.com/user/345506516/list/rekomendasi-tempat-wisata-di-kota-palu">a U-shaped curve of steep mountains</a>. </p>
<p>It was stunning. </p>
<p>As I searched for a field site, it became quickly apparent that Palu was one of the few cities in the region with paved roads, running water and electricity. Much of this development had occurred since the federal government designated Palu the administrative center for a newly created province of Central Sulawesi in 1978. Using a <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/indonesia">World Bank loan</a>, the federal government was able to fund the construction of roads and government buildings, while expanding the city’s electrical and communication grids. </p>
<p>I eventually decided to focus my anthropological research on <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229504039_Who's_Exploiting_Whom_Agency_Fieldwork_and_Representation_among_Lauje_of_Indonesia">the Lauje</a>, one of Central Sulawesi’s 32 ethnic groups. The Lauje live in woven bamboo houses deep in the mountains above Tinombo, a region seven hours from Palu by car. For the next two years, I lived in one of these houses studying the Lauje language and conducting fieldwork. </p>
<p>During that period, I only made three or four forays into “modern” Palu. But even back then, it was clear that the city played a vital role in the day-to-day life of the region’s remote villages.</p>
<p>The Palu administrators decided where clinics and schools would be built and how they would be funded and staffed. They helped build and maintain the vital roads and bridges that coastal elites used to access the lucrative ebony, bamboo, cloves, coffee and chocolate farmed by upland peasants. </p>
<h2>Steady – but fragile – growth</h2>
<p>Over the years, I’ve watched Palu grow. What was once a sleepy little administrative capital where it seemed like everyone knew one another had become, by 2016, <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/03/23/analysis-sulawesi-an-island-opportunity-amid-economic-slowdown.html">a bustling city</a> of <a href="https://palukota.bps.go.id/statictable/2017/06/13/599/jumlah-penduduk-menurut-kabupaten-kota-di-provinsi-sulawesi-tengah-ribu-2012-2016.html">375,000 residents</a>
with palatial mansions, gridlocked traffic, rock concerts and shopping malls.</p>
<p>As Central Sulawesi’s capital city, Palu serves not only its residents, but those throughout the province.</p>
<p>It’s where middle-class people living in more rural areas send their kids to university, where they travel to buy computers or automobiles and where they go for serious medical procedures. It’s where administrators from far-flung counties go to attend training workshops, file government reports or request funding for local projects. </p>
<p>While Palu became more prosperous during the 31-year rule of former President <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/24/world/fall-suharto-overview-indonesia-struggles-find-new-reasons-stay-intact.html">Suharto</a>, most of the Lauje and the province’s other ethnic communities continued to live in poverty, surviving off subsistence farming. </p>
<p>Change came when President Suharto left office in 1998 and a new democratic government took power. </p>
<p>For decades, Suharto’s family <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/07/23/indonesia-still-has-too-much-corruption-says-soehartos-son.html">had unfairly controlled the prices</a> of lucrative crops such as coffee, cloves and <a href="https://sulteng.antaranews.com/berita/39485/parigi-moutong-produksi-kakao-69704-ton">chocolate</a>, pocketing government-imposed costs and fees for themselves.</p>
<p>Now, with fairer costs and prices in place, farmers can profit more from their labor – and can then pay for the books and uniforms required to send their children to middle and high schools. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, more equitable distribution of federal resources funded new schools and health clinics in rural regions. The Palu government also built motorcycle trails that bypassed the rivers, allowing farmers to more easily transport their produce to markets.</p>
<p>In 2017, Central Sulawesi’s economy <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/02/07/central-sulawesi-records-economic-growth-of-7-14-in-2017.html">grew at a rate of 7.14 percent</a>. Much of that has taken place in Palu, but the province’s other regions have slowly <a href="https://www.indonesia-investments.com/finance/macroeconomic-indicators/poverty/item301?">been inching out of poverty</a>, too.</p>
<h2>Life on pause</h2>
<p>This fragile economic growth has now been completely upended; the region’s infrastructure is in ruins. </p>
<p>“The air here in Palu smells like rotting corpses,” a friend recently told me over Facebook. “It’s unhealthy and aftershocks still rumble and <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/10/05/police-arrest-over-90-alleged-looters-in-c-sulawesi.html">looters</a> are everywhere.”</p>
<p>With Palu’s bureaucrats, business people and teachers fleeing, no one knows how county governments will be able to function. Life isn’t just on hold for city dwellers; everything in the province, it seems, has come to a standstill.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239808/original/file-20181008-72117-cr4bjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/239808/original/file-20181008-72117-cr4bjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239808/original/file-20181008-72117-cr4bjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239808/original/file-20181008-72117-cr4bjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=373&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239808/original/file-20181008-72117-cr4bjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239808/original/file-20181008-72117-cr4bjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/239808/original/file-20181008-72117-cr4bjz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=468&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">A man surveys the damage after the earthquake and tsunami.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Indonesia-Earthquake-Photo-Gallery/4a87cf0c734f419cab99a57dbc3eff51/15/1">AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana</a></span>
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<p>My friends in several Central Sulawesi communities have told me over Facebook that even though bottled water is scarce, they’re afraid to boil river water still cloudy with debris from the earthquake.</p>
<p>Many rural families receive scholarships to private schools in Palu that train their children to be midwives, pharmacists or medical technicians. What will happen to those already enrolled, whose schools are now shuttered or destroyed?</p>
<p>What will happen to the pregnant women in remote areas who can’t access doctors or midwives because they have all been sent to Palu? </p>
<p>What will happen to the flow of goods that once entered the Port of Palu and were then transported via truck across Central Sulawesi’s mountains? </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/14/natural-disasters-poverty-world-bank-climate-change">rural poor</a> often end up suffering the most after <a href="https://www.indonesia-investments.com/finance/macroeconomic-indicators/poverty/item301?">natural disasters</a>.</p>
<p>In Central Sulawesi, I fear this will be the case as well.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104470/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Nourse receives funding from the Fulbright Program and has received a University of Richmond Faculty Research grant.
</span></em></p>The devastation of the recent earthquake and tsunami might be most visible in Palu, the capital city of Central Sulawesi. But the province’s rural areas could ultimately suffer the most.Jennifer Nourse, Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of RichmondLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1042572018-10-03T06:44:44Z2018-10-03T06:44:44ZReviewing Indonesia’s tsunami early warning strategy: Reflections from Sulawesi island<p>The <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-45702566">7,5 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that had hit Palu and Donggala</a> in Central Sulawesi Indonesia last Friday, has killed <a href="https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/indonesia-45715440">at least 1,300 people</a>. Some 99 people are missing, 799 injured and nearly <a href="https://regional.kompas.com/read/2018/10/02/08121951/korban-meninggal-gempa-dan-tsunami-palu-capai-925-jiwa-799-luka-luka">60 thousand are displaced </a> in over 100 locations. </p>
<p>After the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_Indian_Ocean_earthquake_and_tsunami">2004 tsunami in Aceh</a>, the international community and Indonesia invested hundreds of billions of rupiah to set up the country’s tsunami early warning system, <a href="https://inatews.bmkg.go.id/new/about_inatews.php?urt=12">InaTEWS</a>. But with the rising death toll of Palu and Donggala disasters, its effectiveness is questioned. </p>
<p>Although InaTEWS may be conceptually comprehensive, it was not able to provide the necessary service when faced with the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/indonesia/indonesia-45703709">earthquake in Palu</a>. Its heavy emphasis on the technology and not the people has serious implication in human lives. </p>
<p>Many fell victim for not evacuating in time. Almost all of the victims of the tsunami did not receive evacuation information from the government after the earthquake. <a href="https://twitter.com/Sutopo_PN/status/1046138149443764226">No sirens rang</a>. At the same time, the public have yet to have the habit of <a href="http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/373/2053/20140370">quick evacuation</a> to higher ground right after an earthquake. </p>
<p>The public’s alertness to tsunamis and earthquakes is not simply a matter of sufficient technology. It’s also a socio-cultural, economic, and political problem that must be sufficiently and continuously addressed in detail. </p>
<h2>The Palu tsunami controversy</h2>
<p>Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) <a href="https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20181001084159-20-334529/komisi-v-dpr-panggil-bmkg-terkait-peringatan-tsunami-palu">will be calling the Chief of the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG)</a> to hear her explanation on why the BMKG’s <a href="https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2018/09/28/17394801/bmkg-cabut-peringatan-tsunami-akibat-gempa-berkekuatan-77-di-sulteng">tsunami warning</a> was <a href="http://www.bmkg.go.id/tsunami/">revoked after the arrival of the deadly waves</a> on the coast of Palu. Thirty minutes after the warning was issued, the BMKG terminated the warning <a href="https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2018/09/29/16415971/begini-kronologi-gempa-dan-tsunami-palu-donggala-yang-tewaskan-ratusan-orang">while the tsunami had arrived 15 minutes earlier</a>.</p>
<p>BMKG’s decision was based on the results of Palu’s tsunami modelling analysis verified using a <a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/tide-gauge.html">tide gauge</a> located in Mamuju (300km from Palu). Results from the analysis have shown that the tsunami water level was detected but it was not significant enough for it to be considered dangerous. </p>
<p>The BMKG and a number of experts explained that <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-30/indonesia-tsunami-sensors-missed-huge-waves-official-says/10321330">the tide gauge in Palu was either not confirmed or was not functioning</a>. At the same time, it was impossible for them to verify directly to Palu as phone lines were down shortly after the earthquake.</p>
<p>There were also no available alternative data sources such as <a href="https://library.wmo.int/pmb_ged/dbcp-td_36_en/presentations/22_Pandoe-Indonesia-Tsunameters.pdf">tsunami buoys</a>.</p>
<p>Lost or damaged tsunami buoys <a href="https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20180930160115-20-334439/bnpb-seluruh-buoy-deteksi-tsunami-di-indonesia-rusak">have often been reported</a>. The Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) has frequently reported this, once on <a href="http://www.tribunnews.com/nasional/2011/07/12/indonesia-kehilangan-alat-pendeteksi-tsunami">July 2011</a>, then on <a href="https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2016/03/03/17174271/Semua.Alat.Pendeteksi.Tsunami.Milik.Indonesia.Rusak">March 2016</a>, and on <a href="https://nasional.tempo.co/read/1042840/bnpb-seluruh-alat-pendeteksi-tsunami-di-indonesia-rusak">December 2017</a>. This means that within the last seven years, none of the tsunami buoys have been replaced. </p>
<p>We need to ask why haven’t the tsunami buoys been replaced if it is such a vital device in a scenario such as the Palu earthquake? Why wasn’t the replacement of damaged technologies a government priority? Who should be responsible? Did Indonesia’s House of Representatives (DPR) reject the proposal from related bodies? </p>
<h2>Increase public’s disaster preparedness</h2>
<p>A human-centered tsunami early warning system (TEWS) requires the commitment to invest in building the public’s awareness. Investing in at-risk communities must be done regularly and continuously from the district to the household level. </p>
<p>It’s not enough to focus only on technological upgrading while disregarding the need to prepare the public against future tsunamis. It’s important to scrutinise how serious have Indonesia’s national and local governments implemented tsunami and earthquake awareness agendas. </p>
<p>Accusing the community for <a href="https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20181001212900-4-35600/luhut-pencuri-buoy-tsunami-sama-dengan-pembunuh">stealing or vandalising</a> tsunami buoys and calling them “murderers” is one thing, but reducing the problem of tsunami buoys into a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200053275_When_Heaven_hardly_Meets_the_Earth_Towards_Convergency_in_Tsunami_Early_Warning_Systems">criminal dispute</a> would not solve the issue on disaster preparedness. </p>
<p>Even if there are tsunami buoys, they are probably ten years old. Has there been routine maintenance? In Australia, for example, the Bureau of Meteorology routinely <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/tsunami/about/detection_buoys.shtml">replaces tsunami buoys</a> every two years. Seabed pressure sensors must also be regularly checked and cleaned from sediments and small sea creatures.</p>
<p>This means that since <a href="http://www.gitews.org/tsunami-kit/id/E2/sumber_lainnya/InaTEWS%20-%20Konsep%20dan%20Implementasi.pdf">InaTEWS was officially established</a> and the buoys were used in 2008, it needed to have been replaced at least three to four times already. Depending on the type and resilience of the device, <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/310/303677.pdf">maintenance can be expensive and are not always reliable</a>. </p>
<p>Some experts have said that <a href="http://time.com/5411473/indonesia-tsunami-warning-technology-dispute/">Palu does not even have tsunami buoys</a> due to the lack of financial support from the government to the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), the agency responsible for managing the device. </p>
<p>We need to question if adequate budget have been allocated for the maintenance of InaTEWS’s tsunami buoys for the last eight years. It’s possible that tsunami buoys were unavailable because they had stopped functioning due to want of care. </p>
<p>Thus, when the government calls people who have stolen the buoys as <a href="https://www.cnbcindonesia.com/news/20181001212900-4-35600/luhut-pencuri-buoy-tsunami-sama-dengan-pembunuh">“murderers”</a>, they should be equally aware of their role in the death of hundred of victims for failing to provide InaTEWS with adequate maintenance and infrastructure upgrades.</p>
<h2>The uncertainty of the technology and system of TEWS</h2>
<p>Technology’s inherent weakness is embedded in its governance system and it’s also limited by context. <a href="http://big.go.id/">The Geospatial Information Agency (BIG)</a> needs to routinely upgrade and supervise the maintenance of tide gauges.</p>
<p>Systems and equipment that depend on electricity frequently becomes a problem during large earthquakes. The importance of back-up energy systems like solar power has been frequently discussed (<a href="http://iotic.ioc-unesco.org/images/xplod/resources/material/inatews%20guidebook%20ina.pdf">see the InaTEWS guide</a>). </p>
<p>In addition to the lack of information from Palu’s tide gauges and the absence of tsunami buoys, there have been critiques to the tsunami analysis model. Tsunami analysis models should take into account the characteristics of bay dynamics, the potential of underwater landslides, and the state of InaTEWS’s technology and systems. </p>
<p>It’s easy to put all the blame on the BMKG, but everything is not always as it seems in Palu’s September 28 earthquake. We should also look at local and national bureaucracies for negligence in the maintenance of tide gauges and buoys. The problem with InaTEWS is its governance mechanism is complex because there many layers and levels of authorities involved.</p>
<p>It’s also easy to accuse the local people for stealing InaTEWS asset such as tsunami buoys without educating the them on disaster preparedness. </p>
<p>The element of speed and accuracy are crucial in any tsunami early warning system (TEWS). The principle of technology development according to <a href="https://www.intel.com.au/content/www/au/en/silicon-innovations/moores-law-technology.html">Moore’s law</a> stipulates that new technology arrives every 18-24 months. This implies the need to upgrade the old ones regularly. </p>
<p>How would InaTEWS operate a system that can effectively protect its people if the system is not routinely enhanced according to technological advancement? How are we supposed to have a state-of-the-art system if policy makers do not support the budget for technological upgrading?</p>
<p>Additionally, one of the most vital components in Indonesia’s early warning system <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2008/11/27/warning-system-about-people.html">is the Indonesian people</a>. Communities should be able to adapt and anticipate future disasters independently and sustainably. </p>
<h2>Regional disaster management reforms</h2>
<p>Because TEWS was set up to protect people, consistent tsunami and earthquake risk awareness building is a must. Emphasis must be made on <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232964458_Measuring_the_sustainability_of_tsunami_early_warning_systems_An_interdisciplinary_research_agenda">people and governance systems</a> to ensure the early warning system works well. </p>
<p>There should be <a href="https://www.zef.de/uploads/tx_zefportal/Publications/2efd_GITEWS-Lassa-2009.pdf">bureacratic reforms in Indonesia’s local disaster management</a> to improve InaTEWS’ service at local level. <a href="https://www.bnpb.go.id/pusdalops-garda-terdepan-menggali-informasi-saat-bencana-">The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) and Operations Control Centre (Pusdalops)</a> should act as the vanguard to provide district and city-level disaster information and warnings instead of a purposeless bureaucratic display. </p>
<p>Without bureaucratic improvements and public service reforms along the whole InaTEWS chain, from the centre to the regional level, along with public awareness building at grassroots level, it would be impossible for Indonesia to withstand future tsunamigenic earthquakes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/104257/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jonatan A Lassa tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>Indonesia’s tsunami early warning system failed to provide adequate warnings to people in Palu.Jonatan A Lassa, Senior Lecturer, Humanitarian Emergency and Disaster Management, College of Indigenous Futures, Arts and Society, Charles Darwin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.