Community Empowerment in Disaster Risk Reduction

Abstract

Indonesia is one of flood-prone areas. About 30% of the 500 rivers in Indonesia cross populated areas. More than 220 million people, some are poor and live in flood-prone areas. In general, the flood disaster occurred in the western part of Indonesia that received higher rainfall compared to the East. This research uses qualitative approach. Data were obtained from leprosy studies and in-depth interviews with community leaders. In the context of the Lhong subdistrict, it is not only natural and community factors that cause flooding. The existence of private companies also trigger the destruction of nature. The company engaged in mining is considered as one of the ecological damage factor Lhong area. Building community participation requires a reliable facilitator to mobilize the community involved. Similar to the people in Lhong, what is needed now is outside support to mobilize the community to care about disaster. There is no pure partisipation that comes from the village community because people are less concerned about disaster preparedness.

Keywords: community empowerment, disaster risk reduction