Knowledge, attitude, and practices of tsunami-prone communities, Nias, Indonesia.

Nias Island is presently being confronted with a substantial and imminent threat of a tsunami. However, the level of knowledge of the communities on Nias Island regarding earthquake and tsunami hazards is limited. This study aims to evaluate the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) among the communities residing on Nias Island with respect to the hazard of tsunami. This study adopted a community participation method derived from a social inductive study. Data were collected from field observations and in-depth interviews with 210 communities. Data were analysed using a descriptive table form for comprehensive examination. The results showed that the majority of communities lacked comprehensive knowledge regarding both the sources of tsunamis and estimated times of arrival (ETAs) for tsunamis. The findings also indicated a lack of regular disaster evacuation drills or simulations conducted by the government in the area. Moreover, there is a prevailing belief among the communities that God will prevent loss of life in the event of a tsunami. This belief is concerning because of its potential contribution to a fatalistic attitude towards disasters, potentially resulting in inadequate preparedness. The findings of this research confirm previous research that found that people living on small islands in Indonesia have very limited knowledge of the tsunami hazard. Contribution: These findings highlight the important role of the government to carry out substantial efforts aimed at enhancing the resilience of communities residing in small islands. Currently, small islands receive less attention in efforts to reduce disaster risk.

Community adaptation strategies toward tidal flood: A Case study in Langsa, Indonesia.

Flood risk reduction in Indonesia is primarily still focused on structural measures with limited research assessing community adaptation strategies. The response and adaptation strategies carried out by the community have been recognized as playing an important role in planning future mitigation actions. Community adaptation strategies are key factors in disaster risk reduction. This study aimed to determine the responses and adaptation strategies to manage tidal floods by the coastal community of Langsa City. An in-depth interview with village heads and officials, youth leaders and the community was performed to generate data. The results showed that the local community ignored the dangers of tidal floods and disregarded them as life-threatening. Furthermore, they carried out adaptations, such as raising the house level using wood materials and building dams along the coastline autonomously without government intervention. The adaptations were carried out through communal work referred to as 'gotong royong' (mutual cooperation). Contribution: These findings highlight the importance of 'gotong royong' as social capital in disaster risk reduction and government attention to conduct integrated coastal area management.

Islamic perspectives in disaster: An alternative to changing fatalistic attitudes.

Misunderstandings towards the teachings of Islam increases the fatalistic attitude towards disaster. Fatalistic attitude causes them to ignore measures to reduce the disaster risk. A new approach is needed to change the fatalistic attitude that afflicts most Muslim countries. This article aims to provide an overview of the view of Islam on disasters and the Islamic perspectives on disaster risk reduction. The findings from this literature review reveal that Islamic discourses view disaster as a test from God. There is not a single verse in the Qur'an and the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad who order humans to be fatalistic in their understanding of disasters. On the contrary, Islamic teachings actually give significant attention to the people to use knowledge in disaster risk reduction. This article offers three Islamic principles that can be used in disaster risk reduction, namely Al-Ilmu (knowledge), Ikhtiar (effort) and Tawakkul (trust in God). The concept is expected to fill the limitations of the literature that examines the positive impact of Islamic teachings on disaster risk reduction.

The role of knowledge and fatalism in college students related to the earthquake-risk perception.

At present, the earthquake-risk perception research in Aceh only focuses on the general public. Limited research examines earthquake-risk perceptions amongst students. This exploratory study is focused on geography education students because this study programme has integrated disaster education into its curriculum. This study aims to find the extent to which earthquake knowledge and fatalism beliefs affect earthquake-risk perception. The survey was conducted on 210 students using questionnaires. Using the Spearman correlation test, the results of this study revealed that there was a positive and significant relationship between earthquake knowledge and risk perception with coefficients (0.200) and significance (0.004). Meanwhile, fatalism beliefs have a negative and significant relationship to the perception of earthquake risk with correlation coefficient (-0.224) and significance (0.001). This means that the higher the fatalism attitude of students towards disasters, the lower the perception of earthquake risk. It is feared that fatalism will have an impact on the lack of disaster preparedness. Fatalism beliefs are complex issues that require joint efforts from governments, religious leaders, educational institutions and the media to reduce them.