Surabaya, Indonesia: Successful Online Workshop Series on Disaster Risk Reduction Mitigation in Surabaya and East Java for High School Teachers and the Public

Some disasters are predictable, but with earthquakes, it is a different story. Preparing for and then living with the impact of an earthquake requires effort and investment beyond business-as-usual practices. Cities need to consider a “no-regret” strategy – identifying decisions that will almost certainly prove beneficial despite the uncertainty of when and how an earthquake will hit – as they plan for more resilient development.

Indonesia is facing an increasing number of natural disasters, including earthquakes, due to its location on the ‘Ring of Fire’: one of the most active seismic areas in the world and fault lines in the basin of the Pacific Ocean. Although anticipation of potential disaster scenarios is a challenge, cities can learn how to cope and live with such disasters when they happen.

This was the core message during a series of three online workshops on Earthquake Preparedness Strategy conducted by Global Future Cities Programme (GFCP) of South East Asia for ITS (Technology Institute of Sepuluh Nopember Surabaya) in October and November this year. The good news stories of the successful online workshops were covered by one of the top media agencies in Indonesia (Jawa Post).

The webinars were designed to educate high school teachers and the wider public on the seismic risks in Surabaya and East Java, and also in relation to tsunami devastation. The third webinar focused on disaster risk mitigation both from a structural and non-structural perspective.

Living with disasters, especially earthquakes, requires basic understanding on structural and non-structural risk mitigation, explained Dr. Irawan Tani, the team leader of the GFCP’s Surabaya Earthquake Preparedness project. He highlighted the many pre-emptive measures that can help predict the impact of an earthquake – but he also stressed that the current implementation of these measures is not yet sufficient. For example, there remains a high risk of building collapse and significant loss of life, without the right structural mitigation standards and the compliance of all stakeholders.

The other side of the coin – non-structural mitigation – is just as important, explained Dr. Tani. Cities must focus on issues such as urban planning, hazard zoning and public awareness if they are to properly prepare for the full impact of earthquakes. However, the same challenges persist as for structural mitigation, because the current implementation of mitigation measures is not yet adequate.