Indonesia’s proneness to disaster and its little-to-no-effort to it
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Despite its vulnerability, the Indonesian government has seemed to fail to prioritize disaster risk management. A major concern is the lack of national education programs. Unlike countries like Japan, which integrate disaster preparedness into their school curriculum and conduct regular evacuation drills, Indonesia has no standardized disaster education across its educational institutions. According to Amri et al. (2022), only 4% of schools in Indonesia have been adopting Disaster Risk Reduction Education (DRRE). When disaster education efforts do take place, they often happen only after a disaster has occurred. Schools or volunteers may conduct temporary preparedness training following an earthquake or tsunami, but these efforts are not sustained over time and are quickly forgotten. Without a structured and continuous national disaster education program, many Indonesians remain unprepared, exacerbating casualties and economic losses when disasters strike.
The high poverty rate in Indonesia further worsens disaster vulnerability. Many low-income communities, including the poor, homeless, and disabled, are forced to live in disaster-prone areas such as riverbanks, coastal regions, and unstable hillsides due to economic constraints, leaving the group to bear the brunt of disaster impact (The World Bank, 2019). For example, the Cianjur earthquake in 2022 disproportionately impacted marginalized communities, leading to higher fatalities and prolonged displacement (Handoyo et al., 2024). Similarly, in Jakarta, the annual floods primarily affect low-income neighborhoods where residents have little choice but to remain in high-risk areas despite recurring flood events (Resosudarmo and Halimatussadiah, 2018).
In February 2025, the national government decided to cut budgets to key institutions for national budget efficiency. Ironically, despite being the second-most-prone country to disaster, the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG)'s budget has significantly reduced. Officials have warned that the budget cut would impact the accuracy of weather forecasts and earthquake detection, leaving the population more vulnerable to disasters (Rahayu, 2025). These budget reductions not only limit technological advancements in disaster monitoring but also decrease public outreach and preparedness campaigns. Instead of investing in strengthening disaster resilience, the government has prioritized other sectors, such as the free lunch program, which has been widely criticized and opposed by many due to concerns over its feasibility and effectiveness (Wihardja and Patunru, 2025). The situation has been exacerbated by security issues, as in the frequent cases of stolen earthquake and tsunami detection equipment, such as the recent incident in Sidrap, South Sulawesi, which further weakens Indonesia's disaster preparedness infrastructure (Zulkarnaim, 2025).
However, certain local communities in Indonesia have preserved traditional disaster knowledge that has proven effective in saving lives. For example, the people of Simeulue, Aceh, practice "Smong," a local oral tradition that teaches tsunami awareness. This cultural knowledge significantly reduced casualties in Simeulue during the 2004 Aceh tsunami compared to other affected regions (Rahman et al., 2017). Similarly, other indigenous knowledge systems exist across Indonesia, yet they remain isolated efforts rather than being integrated into a national strategy. While local communities have demonstrated resilience and preparedness, the Indonesian government has made no significant national efforts to integrate such local wisdom into broader disaster risk education policies. This stark contrast highlights the lack of commitment to a cohesive disaster education framework, further exacerbating the country's vulnerability to future calamities.
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