Eruption Hazard and Challenges of Volcanic Crisis Management on a Small Island: A Case

Abstract

Ternate Island is a volcanic island formed by the product of Gamalama volcano since thousands of years ago until the present time. It covers 111.4 km 2 and inhabited by more than 200,000 people. Its small size and dense population make it vulnerable to eruption hazards. This study aims to analyze the Gamalama volcano eruption hazard and the challenges of crisis management due to eruption on the small volcanic island of Ternate. This research also offers potential solutions for reducing the risk of catastrophic eruptions on small volcanic islands. Data on eruption events, including the type of eruption and the impact are collected and analyzed to see various potential eruption hazards. Besides, the analysis was also carried out to find potential solutions for volcanic risk management on small volcanic islands. The results show that the Ternate Island has the potential volcanic hazard, (primary), i.e., ejecting and incandescent of volcanic material (volcanic ash, sand, gravel, and bomb), lava flow, and pyroclastic flow. The other hazard (secondary) can be in the form of lahar and volcanic-tsunamis. A small island with dense population and all kinds of limitations will be more susceptible to eruption. The potential strategy that must be developed for volcanic risk management on a small island is the sister island concept. This concept is a networking system between communities on disaster-prone islands and communities on other islands that are safe to prepare evacuation procedures to avoid chaos in a volcanic crisis.

Review of Local and Global Impacts of Volcanic Eruptions and Disaster Management Practices: The Indonesian Example

“…New concepts have been developed to overcome the problems in the evacuationrelocation programs. The concept of sister village, sister city, or sister island becomes good choices that are currently being developed to reduce the post-disaster livelihood crisis [101].…”

“…The sister village concept was implemented in the aftermath of the 2010 Merapi eruption as a mitigation measure against the next eruption [102]. Sister island in Indonesia has been developed technically in Ternate island threatened by Gamalama volcano by involving neighboring islands: Tidore, Hiri, and Halmahera, both for temporary and permanents displaced population [101,103]. The mapping phase is helpful for selecting the proper sister village and sister island.…”

Coastal Hazard Modeling in Indonesia Small Island: Case Study of Ternate Island

“…The sister island concept can be one of the strategies to be applied in disaster management on small islands, primarily to provide evacuation places in an emergency. Sister island is a network system built between the community and government on a disaster-prone island with a safe surrounding island to prepare for an organized evacuation procedure [21]. Hazard should be comprehensively assessed as one of the main documents for sister island.…”

Assessment of Social Vulnerability to Kiematubu Volcano in Tidore Island, North Maluku

“…Gamalama volcano in Ternate, Gamkonora and Ibu volcanoes in West Halmahera, and Dukono volcano in North Halmahera had advisory (waspada) stage in 2017 [3]. Gamalama volcano is the most active one that had occurred 77 times eruption since 1510 [4].…”

“…Inhabitant that lives in potential hazard area is vulnerable, mostly the poor, gender minorities, the disabled, the elderly, and those who are unable to access safety resource [8,9]. Restriction to access resources, i.e., transportation, communication, and limited natural resources, often becomes an obstacle in regional development in a small island [4,10], including in terms of disaster management.…”