Disasterchannel.co,- Tonggolobibi Village is one of the villages that was seriously affected by the earthquake disaster followed by the tsunami that occurred on January 1 1996. The earthquake that occurred 27 years ago killed eight people and damaged 788 houses. There is still clear evidence of the magnitude of the tsunami that occurred when we visit the coast in the Tonggolobibi Village area.
From the history of disasters in Tonggolobibi Village, it indicates that this area is at great risk of earthquakes followed by tsunamis. Therefore, the Indonesian Scale Foundation is supported by PT. Mandala Multifinance Tbk carries out the “Develop Community Led on Disaster Risk Management” program. This is done as a way to increase the capacity of residents in the most at-risk areas to be able to independently manage disaster risks in their areas. This program is carried out in several stages, including pre-disaster training, during a disaster and also post-disaster.
This program started running in Tonggolobibi Village last May. Several series of training have been carried out starting from increasing the knowledge capacity of residents regarding threats, assessing village vulnerability and capacity, preparedness training and also making contingency plans.
Increasing the capacity of Tonggolobibi Village residents was carried out again at the Indonesian Scale Foundation which continued training in Balukang Village on 26-27 September 2023. In this second stage, we trained on disaster management during a disaster or during an emergency response.
The training was carried out at the Tonggolobibi Village meeting hall. A gentle breeze from the sea of the Makassar Strait accompanies each training session. The activity this time felt very special, because the arrival of the Chief Executive of the District Disaster Management Agency. Donggala, Drs Abdul Muin. In his speech, Abdul fully supported the implementation of this series of activities and hoped that his citizens would be more resilient in facing disasters.
Residents were given training regarding emergencies starting with material on preparedness for earthquakes and tsunamis, then reminded again about material on contingency plans for earthquakes followed by tsunamis. The activity continued with the provision of refugee management material and also Water Air Sanitary and Hygiene (WASH). This training is accompanied by discussions and joint design of good evacuation facilities during a disaster emergency response.
On the following day, it continued with the delivery of material regarding the functions, benefits and equipment in disaster preparedness bags. Next, presentation of Search and Rescue (SAR) material and Emergency First Aid (PPGD) training.
After all the material was delivered, the community was trained to practice self-evacuation methods when an earthquake followed by a tsunami occurred. All participants were introduced to the self-evacuation procedure and the sound of the siren for each meaning. Then, residents practiced evacuation simulations by protecting themselves and escaping to the gathering point which was around 1450 meters from the beach.
The independent evacuation simulation ended with the activation of the earthquake and tsunami contingency plan which had been designed into an emergency response operations plan. All independent evacuation participants are trained to carry out their duties in the emergency response phase.
This training made an impression on the residents of Tonggolobibi Village, one of whom was Dina Suardin (20). Dina believes that this activity makes her learn a lot. “This training is very different from the training I have participated in before. “This one is clearer, every method is explained clearly and in detail,” said Dina.
All training series are carefully considered, from the delivery of material to practice. Dina really liked the independent evacuation simulation session and activation of the disaster emergency response command post which was held at the gathering point, Tonggolobibi Village market. According to him, this session made it easy to understand the main duties and functions of each individual listed in the disaster emergency response command structure.
Lastly, Dina hopes that all this training can also be conveyed to all residents of Tonggolobibi Village through any media and methods.
“Hopefully this disaster management training can minimize the risk of disasters that will occur and the community can quickly respond to self-evacuation if a disaster occurs,” stressed Dina. (LS)
