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Disaster education can save lives. Why are Indonesian kids not taught about it?
At least 185 natural disasters occurred in the first few weeks of 2021, with floods, landslides and whirlwinds dominating the tally. Last year, the country recorded more than 2,900 natural disasters.
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Rescuers search for survivors at the Mitra Manakarra hospital in Mamuju city on Jan. 15, where as many as 20 patients and staff are trapped beneath the rubble after the hospital was flattened by a 6.2-magnitude earthquake. (Agence France Presse/Firdaus)
Twenty-three-year-old Priscilla Maharani recalled how terrifying it was when she woke up to a powerful earthquake one morning in Sleman, Yogyakarta. She was 8 at the time.
“I remember that I was trapped inside my room because I was too scared to move or do anything at all. I was so young back then, and the memory of being unable to do anything amid the quake is so scary,” Priscilla said.
Although 15 years have passed, the incident still haunts her. Priscilla feels grateful that neither she nor her family members were injured in the earthquake, which devastated Yogyakarta and killed more than 5,000 people. She still wished, however, that she had been more prepared.
Situated along the Ring of Fire, a belt of seismic activity encircling the Pacific basin that is formed by a string of active volcanoes, Indonesia is no stranger to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.
This year alone, the country recorded two earthquakes in West Sulawesi in January that killed at least 81 people and left thousands of others homeless, while South Kalimantan saw its first major flood in 50 years that resulted in the deaths of 15 people and displaced more than 100,000.
Read also: Indonesia braces for more weather disasters. Climate crisis will make them worse
