The Donggala region suddenly became famous because of the earthquake that occurred in 5 last year. This region is the epicenter of the earthquake 7,4 SRs are, with energy capable of collapsing many buildings that could no longer withstand the force of the earthquake. Thousands of lives have not been spared due to various vulnerability factors.
Long before the earthquake on 28 September 2018, The Donggala region has experienced frequent earthquakes, it's just that we don't pay attention to it. During 100 last year, It was recorded that there were four earthquakes that caused tsunamis in the year 1927 (Mw=6,1) year 1968 (Mw=7,4) year 1996 (Mw=7,7) and year 2018 (Mw=7,4), three of them are in the West Coast region of Donggala.
The large number of historical records of destructive earthquakes accompanied by tsunamis in the West Coast region of Donggala has become the basis for the Indonesian Scale Foundation to increase community capacity to be able to deal with disasters more independently.. Through the program “Develop Community Led on Disaster Risk Management”The Indonesian Scale Foundation is supported by PT. Mandala Multifinance Tbk, trying to form local leadership that has the ability to reduce disaster risk in the region.
Departed from Jakarta early Monday morning (8/05/2023), then we rushed to hold an audience with the BPBD of Central Sulawesi Province and also the BPBD of Kab. Donggala. After going through a long process of discussion, the Scale Indonesia Foundation team decided to carry out program interventions in the Kec. Dampelas and Also Sojol. These two sub-districts were hit by a destructive earthquake accompanied by a tsunami in 1968 and 1996. The selected area is Sioyong Village, Dampelas District, Balukang Village and Tonggolobibi Village, in Sojol District.
Like exploring the Palu-Koro fault, the team traveled from Palu City to Kec. Dampelas and Sojol to hold hearings and also apply for permits to procure activities. Driving for five and a half hours while enjoying the west coast of Donggala with clear water blue like sapphires makes the trip feel so amazing.
We spent no less than five days carrying out the licensing process for regional stakeholders from the sub-district to village levels. Lucky, all parties support our activities, because many of them are aware that earthquake events can be repeated in the future.
For two days in each village, we conduct a vulnerability study of the community's capacity in dealing with disasters. This study is used to find out the picture of knowledge, the capabilities and facilities that residents have in disaster management efforts. After that, we did a focus group discussion to make contingency plans for earthquakes and tsunamis accompanied by table top exercise or table-top exercises on contingency plans that have been agreed upon. Focus group discussions were held in Sioyong Village on 12-13 Mei 2023, while for Balukang Village, district. Sojol is done on 18-19 Mei 2023 and finally in Tonggolobibi Village it was carried out on 23-24 Mei 2023. All series of activities ran smoothly and were filled with interesting and informative discussions. Residents are so enthusiastic to listen, opinion and share information about the disaster experience they experienced.
The experience of facing disasters in the past has a big influence on the thoughts and opinions of residents in making decisions. The people of the West Coast of Donggala have valuable experience regarding disaster management from time to time. This can be a major asset in increasing the capacity of residents to reduce disaster risk. (LS)
