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Our humanitarian chatbots now speak Spanish! In collaboration with UNDP, Yayasan Peta Bencana launched a pilot flood-mapping platform for Panama. In just its first week of release, the platform received several reports during flooding in the city as residents used the platform to share real-time updates and coordinate response. 

MapaKalamidad.ph, the leading disaster information sharing platform in the Philippines, entered into an official partnership with Philippine Transmarine Carrier Inc.’s (PTC) Resiliency Improvement, Support, and Education (RISE) for Seafarer Communities in the Philippines Program, the flagship disaster risk reduction and management program of PTC.

This strategic partnership aims to promote and enhance disaster preapredness efforts in the Philippines, particularly PTC RISE communities, through the use of MapaKalamidad.ph’s platform that harnesses the power of social media during disaster events to gather real time and on the ground updates straight from the residents. These verified user updates or reports are displayed alongside relevant emergency data collected by local and government agencies. By integrating localized knowledge from various sources into a single, robust platform, MapaKalamidad.ph provides a comprehensive overview of disaster events, enabling residents, humanitarian agencies, and government agencies to make more informed decisions during emergencies.

The Memorandum of Agreement signing ceremony took place on September 19, 2023, at First Maritime Place in Makati City. The event brought together key representatives from both organizations.

Through this partnership, MapaKalamidad.ph and PTC aim to achieve the following key objectives:

1. Strengthened Disaster Response: By combining the expertise of MapaKalamidad.ph and PTC, the partnership will enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of disaster response efforts, ensuring prompt and coordinated actions during emergencies.

2. Enhanced Data Integration: The collaboration will facilitate the integration of PTC’s maritime data and MapaKalamidad.ph‘s comprehensive disaster management platform, enabling seamless information sharing and improved decision-making processes.

3. Heightened Awareness and Preparedness: Together, the organizations will work to raise public awareness about disaster preparedness through joint initiatives, educational campaigns, and community outreach programs.

4. Training: The partnership will focus on training sessions, and workshops to equip stakeholders with the necessary skills and knowledge to respond effectively to disasters.

Yayasan Peta Bencana, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and endorsed by Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB), officially launched the first WhatsApp Humanitarian Chatbot, BencanaBot. The first-of-its-kind, AI-assisted chatbot guides Indonesian residents to submit disaster reports. These reports are mapped in real-time on a free and open source platform, PetaBencana.id, where anyone is able to view and share real-time disaster updates in order to make coordinated, evidence-based decisions about safety and response.

Floodwaters up to 3 meters high destroyed dozens of homes in North Sulawesi on Friday, and torrential rains have flooded several areas in Indonesia during the first month of the year. BMKG has issued a warning for peak rainfall across the country this week, with the monsoon season expected to continue into March. In preparation for the upcoming extreme weather and in line with BNPB’s vision of Indonesia Tangguh 2045, the launch of BencanaBot on WhatsApp is a pivotal next step in strengthening preparedness and community-led disaster risk reduction. 

“If we used to focus on disaster mitigation, now we must focus more on disaster risk reduction. In the past, it was ‘what to do,’ now it is ‘how to do,’” BNPB’s deputy for system and strategy, Raditya Jati, explained at a national seminar on strengthening disaster mitigation systems for community resilience as part of the 2022 Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Month. 

According to the IPCC report, one of the greatest barriers to adaptation is a lack of timely, locally-specific information. PetaBencana.id addresses this gap by collecting real-time updates directly from street level, soliciting resident reports through automated chatbots on social media and instant messaging apps. 

“The scale of the challenges we face today cannot be addressed by one institution alone. It is imperative to enable every single resident to be able to participate in disaster risk reduction and recovery efforts, and that is our mission at Yayasan Peta Bencana,” said Nashin Mahtani, director of Yayasan Peta Bencana. “Recognizing that during disasters people will use the applications they are already using with increased frequency, PetaBencana.id was intentionally designed to harness the use of active social media and instant messaging channels. With over 80 million active users of WhatsApp in Indonesia, the launch of BencanaBot on WhatsApp represents a new milestone in enabling residents all across the archipelago to participate in, and benefit from, this free disaster information sharing system.” 

Any resident in Indonesia can submit disaster reports anonymously by sending a message to +62-8584-BENCANA (+62-8584-2362262 or bit.ly/BencanaBotWA). Residents can also submit reports by tweeting @petabencana, sending a Facebook message to @petabencana, or sending a telegram message to @bencanabot, and check https://petabencana.id for real-time disaster updates to navigate safely.

The Culminating Event of Disaster Risk Reduction Month in Balikpapan was successfully carried out, and Peta Bencana contributed by presenting its platform on the Ignite Stage and taking selfies with BPBD colleagues from all over Indonesia at our booth. This Culminating Event was organized by BNPB in collaboration with the East Kalimantan Provincial BPBD as part of the 2022 National DRR Month Commemoration Peak Series from October 12 – 14, 2022, carrying the theme “Together We Are Resilient” and the tagline: Bebaya Etam Tegoh.

The opening of the 2022 Disaster Risk Reduction Month Commemoration took place on October 12, 2022, at the BSCC Dome, Balikpapan City. The event was inaugurated by the Deputy for Prevention, Prasinta Dewi, followed by the opening of a disaster exhibition featuring 30 booths. These booths represented Provincial Government, Ministerial Agencies (BMKG, Basarnas, BPBD), NGOs/DRR Communities, Business Institutions, SMEs, and Universities.

Peta Bencana’s participation in the 2022 Disaster Risk Reduction Month Commemoration served as a means to strengthen the understanding of colleagues in government, especially BPBDs, business institutions, and the public, regarding efforts to #BersamaKurangiRisiko as a moment to enhance resilience. One such means was the Resilience Stage, facilitated by Rumah Resiliensi. On this occasion, Peta Bencana also introduced the Partnership Emblem to fellow volunteers and BPBD colleagues to foster pentahelix collaboration and increase community participation, while emphasizing the importance of crowdsourced real-time information for saving lives during disasters.

Hundreds of visitors to the Peta Bencana booth enjoyed taking photos, learning how to submit disaster reports through simulations, and networking and discussing potential training, collaborations, and system integrations utilizing the Peta Bencana platform.

As leaders convene at the G20 and UNCOP27 meetings to deliberate commitments to climate action, residents across the world are already experiencing the impacts of extreme weather and are struggling to adapt to unprecedented scales of weather-related disaster events. As Indonesia braces for peak monsoon flooding, a recently launched nation-wide digital media campaign is supporting residents to stay safe and adapt to extreme weather, from the ground-up. The #ThereIsHelp notification service was launched by Twitter, together with partners Yayasan Peta Bencana and BNPB. Now, when residents search for disaster related keywords in Indonesia, the social media site will include a notification encouraging them to click through to credible information and support provided by Twitter’s official partners, PetaBencana.id and BNPB. 

Among Indonesians, the PetaBencana Twitter bot, or “BencanaBot” has become famous for its automatic responses to any post containing disaster-related keywords. The bot asks users to confirm their situation by submitting a disaster report. These reports are mapped in real-time on a free and open source platform, PetaBencana.id, where anyone is able to view and share real-time disaster updates in order to make decisions about safety and response. Since 2013, the platform has been used by millions of residents and first responders in Indonesia to make time-critical decisions about safety and navigation during emergency disaster events. Run by Yayasan Peta Bencana and supported by USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, the platform is also monitored by BNPB who use the platform to view and respond to incoming resident reports. The launch of the #ThereIsHelp feature supports the amplification of this community-based risk reduction effort, as it ensures that all Indonesians will be directed towards verified and timely information during disasters, thereby supporting greater and more effective coordination for all. 

According to BNPB Public Relations Officer Theophilus Yanuarto, who participated in a public conversation on Twitter about the #ThereIsHelp feature, discussions about disaster risk are growing in popularity in Indonesia due to the region’s susceptibility to a wide range of hazards. According to Yunuarto, tools such as PetaBencana provide critical information for the public to support community-level response and increased disaster awareness. In addition, he expressed that increased public participation in disaster information sharing is critical in reducing risk for the nation as a whole, and Yunuarto specifically pointed towards how the crowdsourced data provided on PetaBencana.id helps emergency managers at BNPB effectively respond to disasters. 

According to Monrawee Ampolpittayanant, Head of Public Policy and Philanthropy for Southeast Asia at Twitter, “Our core objective of launching this #ThereIsHelp notification search prompt is to truly help shorten the search time and to provide timely access to credible information from our partners to those in need. In collaboration with BNPB Indonesia (@BNPB_Indonesia), Peta Bencana (@PetaBencana), MERCY Malaysia (@MERCYMalaysia), and NADMA Malaysia (@mynadma), we hope this notification service can serve as a means to help the Indonesian and Malaysian public, as well as government and non-government stakeholders navigate the extreme weather that the monsoon season brings in along with other unprecedented disaster events.” 

According to Nashin Mahtani, Director of Yayasan Peta Bencana, “As extreme weather events become more frequent and severe, it is imperative that every single person is empowered to participate in disaster risk reduction and recovery efforts. During disasters, the first source people turn to is often social media. In a time of information overload, the #ThereIsHelp prompt helps to quickly direct people towards trusted and verified source of information, so that everyone is able to proactively act on their own safety and participate in the civic co-management of disasters. We celebrate the #ThereIsHelp initiative and are grateful to collaborate with our long-time partners at Twitter to ensure that all residents have easier, immediate, access to credible information during emergency situations and are aware of the ways they can participate in our shared goals of reducing risk together through digital gotong royong!”

With a historical triple La Nina this year, Indonesia is expected to receive higher than usual rainfall. We remind residents to stay informed and stay safe! Anyone in Indonesia can submit an anonymous disaster report by tweeting @petabencana, sending a telegram message to @bencanabot, or sending a facebook message to @petabencana. 

At the 2022 G20 Summit in Indonesia, Yayasan Peta Bencana director, Nashin Mahtani, met with Canada’s Foreign Minister, Mélanie Joly, to discuss strategies for advancing youth-led climate adaptation efforts across the Indo-Pacific region. Mahtani was selected as an Indonesian youth delegate to advocate for environmental sustainability and climate resilience with global leaders at the G20.

The discussion highlighted the vital role that young leaders play in driving innovative and community-driven responses to global challenges, including the climate crisis. With the Indo-Pacific region facing increasing risks from extreme weather events, the conversation focused on strengthening cross-border collaboration, fostering knowledge exchange, and ensuring that disaster response technologies remain accessible and adaptable to local contexts.

Minister Joly and Nashin discussed opportunities to integrate youth perspectives into climate adaptation policies, emphasizing the importance of digital public infrastructure, open data, and community-driven governance.

In preparation for COP27, PetaBencana was invited to participate at the “Intergenerational Thinkshop for Hydromet Early Warning Early Action (EWEA): The Engagement of Young Professionals in Disaster Risk Reduction” in Cairo. The ‘Thinkshop’ gathered stakeholders from across 5 generations, representing a range of geographic backgrounds from across 4 continents, coming from a range of disciplines including academics, first responders, NGOs, emergency managers, and scientists. Participants gathered to discuss adaptation efforts to increasingly escalating hydrometeorological shocks due to climate change, and to reflect on the implications of the UN Secretary General Guterres initiative to ensure that “every person on Earth is protected by early warning systems within five years”. The workshop was also attended by head of the Egyptian Meteorological Agency, who iterated his commitment to ensure multi-hazard warning systems for all.

PetaBencana was invited to share our experience working with residents across Indonesia to adapt to extreme weather events, where we highlighted the role of local knowledge in risk reduction, and involving local communities as co-designers of risk reduction programs.

As the culmination of the workshop, together with the participants we co-published a Cairo Statement which will be presented to leaders and stakeholders at COP27. The statement highlights the need to consider the full spectrum of warning and action within the early warning system discussion, acknowledging that the social and behavioural aspects of warning systems, or the ways by which people are equipped and empowered to take action, is a significant portion of the warning infrastructure that has seldom been discussed. History has shown that an improved forecast does not always translate to more proactive responses to warnings. Instead of investing on predictive modelling and technical systems only, equal attention must be given to the behavioural aspects of risk reduction – that is, how people respond to warnings. Additionally, warning systems cannot be thought of as a one-way delivery from large institutions. Local, residential, and indigenous knowledge also play an invaluable role in detecting the earliest warning signals, which are often apparent only through situated, place-based perceptual skills and so must be integrated into monitoring systems on an equal basis with more technical tools of detection. The statement also highlights that funding for the early warning system initiative must prioritize the most vulnerable individuals and areas first. The full statement can be read here. 

To commemorate the Month for Disaster Risk Reduction (Bulan PRB), BNPB hosted an annual event in Balikpapan on 12-14 October 2022, where PetaBencana was invited to participate as a speaker and exhibitor. We set up our famous 3D mural at the event, and hundreds of emergency managers from provincial and local disaster management agencies (BPBDs) all across Indonesia, stopped by to take selfies and practice simulating reports via PetaBencana.id. was successfully carried out and Peta Bencana contributed to presenting the platform on the Ignite Stage and taking selfies with BPBD colleagues from all over Indonesia at our booth.

The opening of the 2022 Disaster Risk Reduction Month Commemoration was held on October 12, 2022, at the BSCC Dome, Balikpapan City. This event was opened by the Deputy for Prevention, Prasinta Dewi, followed by the opening of a disaster preparedness exhibition where stakeholders representing Representatives of the Provincial Government, Ministry of Institutions (BMKG, BASARNAS, BPBD), NGOs / DRR Communities, Business Institutions, and SMEs and Universities, had the opportunity to showcase their work in DRR.

Yayasan Peta Bencana’s involvement in the events was a great way to strengthen the understanding of colleagues in the government, especially BPBDs, business institutions, and the community regarding our efforts to #ReduceRiskTogether by involving public participation in disaster risk reduction. During the session, we showcased our two-way disaster reporting features, which allow for greater coordination among government agencies and the public.

Thank you to everyone who visited, took selfies, learned how to submit disaster reports! We are excited to continue the collaborations and strengthen the network of people who are able to harness the data from PetaBencana.id in order to make evidence-based, coordinated decisions during disasters, and save lives!

On International Disaster Risk Reduction Day, Yayasan Peta Bencana was featured on the South East Asia Morning Show for our work in community-led risk reduction in the region. During the interview with hosts Marissa Anita and Paul Palele, we discussed the history of PetaBencana.id, the development and expansion of MapaKalamidad.ph in the Philippines, disaster trends in the region, and of course, explained how #SelfiesSaveLives!

We also discussed the next trajectories of our work in community-led climate adaptation. We look forward to continuing to #ReduceRiskTogether and thank the SEA Morning Show for providing the space to share our work in the region. Watch the full interview here!

On September 16th, 2022, we collaborated with our partners at Twitter to launch a 24-hour nation-wide disaster preparedness campaign. In preparation for the upcoming monsoon season, we called on Indonesian residents to practice submitting disaster simulation reports to PetaBencana.id by uploading their best selfies to the map. With the #SelfieDermawan hashtag trending on Twitter, over 25 million Indonesians engaged with the campaign, and the PetaBencana.id map lit up with selfies from all over Indonesia!

Through this campaign, we celebrated the faces of everyone who has been in a disaster, has helped during a disaster, or is willing to help in future disasters. As a testament to the strong spirit of “Digital Gotong-royong”, residents all over Indonesia joined in on the campaign to remind our respective communities about the importance of sharing real-time information for disaster response in preparation for the upcoming monsoon season.

Why selfies? More effective than any sensor, selfies contain valuable information about the relative severity of a flood (or other disaster) in relation to a body and place. Importantly, selfies shared on social media provide precise, real-time information about locally specific conditions, as these images are geo-tagged. According to the IPCC report, one of the greatest barriers to climate adaptation is the lack of locally relevant time-sensitive information. However, with the abundant data being shared on social media we know that this is a barrier that can be resolved. PetaBencana.id is able to collect, structure, and visualize this data in real-time, transforming the selfie into a life-saving tool for everyone to make time-critical decisions about safety and response.

Thank you to all partners and residents for participating in the #SelfieDermawan campaign! Of course, thank you to the residents who inspired us with their original social media flood selfies, demonstrating that even during a disaster, we can graciously help our communities, and that a selfie can in fact save lives.