People Perception and Participation in Disaster Risk Reduction at Surakarta City, Central Java, Indonesia

Abstract

<p><em>The research was aimed to determine (1) people knowledge level for the flood risk in Surakarta; (2) people perception of the flood risk in Surakarta; (3) community participation in the flood management in Surakarta. The city of Surakarta was chosen as the research location since this area was commonly flooded in rainy seasons and even in one year there can be floods repeatedly. Data collection methods used was field observation, structured interview and FGD. Data analysis was done by scoring. The results showed that: (1) Surakarta resident knowledge of the flood risk was in the high category. They can independently adapt to the flood disasters that often hit their area; (2) People perceptions of the flood risk disaster were in the high category. This was due to the Early Warning System (EWS) and the Search and rescue (SAR) teams information system which were well managed and easily accessed, (3) People participation in flood disaster management in Surakarta was in the "medium" category. The people participation in funding contributions and community service activities was high. However, the participation in the maintenance of water pumps, floodgates and river embankments was low.</em></p>