A new milestone for climate adaptation: PetaBencana launches first real-time disaster notification service for Indonesia

In July, Indonesia has been simultaneously affected by massive flooding and forest fires; with flooding in Gorontalo affecting more than 36,000 residents, landslides as a result of heavy rain in Central Papua affecting 3,265 people, and forest fires in Aceh, Sumatra Selatan, and Jawa Timur. According to the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), Indonesia experienced a 39.39% rise in natural disasters in 2023, with a total of 5,940 events compared to 3,544 the previous year. According to Head of BNPB, Suharyanto, Indonesia now experiences 15-17 disasters every day. 

Climate-related disasters have become increasingly frequent and severe, posing significant challenges across the country. While extreme weather events cannot always be prevented, immediate alerts can significantly reduce the impact of disasters by allowing residents and response teams to take swift preventive measures. During a disaster, access to the most up-to-date information is critical for communities to understand what actions can be taken to protect themselves, their families, and their properties. 

The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) has highlighted that telecommunications are the future of disaster warning systems. The growing availability and reach of mobile networks and services in particular, make it possible to reach communities at risk and provide people with actionable information. Indonesia is particularly suited to adopt mobile networks for disaster warning systems, with over 80% of the population utilizing internet-connected smartphones, and mobile connections equivalent to over 128% of the total population. 

Today in Indonesia, the latest advancements in geospatial technology and AI, combined with the strength of local knowledge, are now being leveraged to deliver real-time notifications and information about ongoing disasters. On July 29th, 2024, Yayasan Peta Bencana, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), publicly launched the first real-time disaster notification service for all residents across Indonesia. The disaster notification service, freely available to all residents through common messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, provides immediate notifications about earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, haze, and extreme wind, including the most up-to-date information about impacts of these disasters as they change in real-time. The notifications are customized based on geographic location, ensuring relevant, localized information for every resident. As the first free, real-time disaster notification service in the world, the innovation demonstrates the leadership of Indonesia in advancing tech for climate adaptation. 

Decision support tools for climate adaptation have tended to concentrate information in control rooms, where dashboards are only accessed by small groups of professionals. However, to meet the challenges of the climate emergency, every single resident must be empowered to participate in community-led adaptation efforts. By leveraging the network of mobile phones that we all carry in our pockets, we can ensure that every resident is informed and prepared to adapt to increasingly erratic weather patterns. This service represents a major milestone for disaster risk reduction in Indonesia.

Head of the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG), also the Permanent Representative of Indonesia to the World Meteorological Organization – Dwikorita Karnawati, has emphasized that disaster warning systems must be embedded and communicated in ways that are easy to understand, and relevant to the needs of local communities. According to Dwikorita Karnawati, the success of disaster warning systems can be measured by a reduction in the “gap” between information and the community’s ability to act quickly and appropriately. According to Dwikorita Karnawati, “The combination of modernization of tools and technology and local wisdom can be an effective step to minimize the impact of disasters that occur in Indonesia.”

Yayasan Peta Bencana’s disaster notification service integrates data from multiple sources, including local resident observations, leveraging the tacit knowledge of communities, in order to ensure the accuracy, immediacy, and relevance of disaster notifications. As extreme weather events increase in frequency and intensity, the need for improved synergy, communication, and coordination between multiple stakeholders is more critical than ever. As Dwikorita Karnawati highlights, warning systems must contain actionable information in order to be effective. To this end, BMKG and Yayasan Peta Bencana have embarked on an exemplary partnership, with each organization’s disaster information systems feeding into eachother, synergizing local wisdom with the latest advancements in technology to improve warning services. 

As BMKG warns eastern parts of Indonesia to anticipate heavy rain and potential flooding in the coming months, and western parts of Indonesia to anticipate forest fires in the peak of the dry season, it is more timely than ever to have a service that enables all Indonesians to stay informed on the most up-to-date situations to stay safe.