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The 7th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GPDRR) was officially inaugurated by Indonesian President Joko Widodo along with UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed, President of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly Abdulla Shahid, UN Resident Coordinator for Indonesia Valerie Julliand, and the special representative of the UN for disaster risk reduction, as well as several Indonesian officials on May 25, 2022. Organized in a hybrid format, the Global Platform had over 6300 participants from a total of 185 countries.

During his opening remarks, President Joko Widodo encouraged the international community to enhance collaborative cooperation in disaster risk management, emphasizing the need for strengthened risk reduction culture and education, investment in science and technology, climate and disaster resilient infrastructure, and the implementation of global commitments. 

As the main multi-stakeholder global forum to assess and discuss progress, share knowledge, and identify gaps in the implementation of the Sendai Framework for DRR 2015-2030 (a global, non-binding agreement, adopted in 2015 at the Third UN World Conference on DRR in Sendai, Japan) the GPDRR provides a platform for reflection, evaluation, and commitment to more ambitious efforts for inclusive disaster risk reduction, based on the experience of practitioners and policymakers, as well as recent reports such as the IPCC Sixth Assessment report.

Co-chaired by H.E. Prof. Muhadjir Effendy, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, and Ms. Mami Mizutori, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, the forum acknowledged the insufficiency in investment and progress in disaster risk reduction so far. According to the co-chair summary, “the Sustainable Development Goals are not on track” and “disaster-related economic losses continue to rise.” Findings indicate that less than half of the countries reporting against Sendai Framework targets indicate having accessible and actionable disaster risk information, with effective disaster risk management often hindered by siloed approaches. 

As part of the core agenda of the GPDRR, the plenaries of the midterm review of the implementation of the sendai framework for disaster risk reduction, are an important contribution which concludes at a high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly in May 2023. The plenaries invited participants across different sectors to engage in a moderated discussion to offer their interventions, the results of which would contribute to the adoption of a political declaration at the UN General Assembly in 2023, which will inform further implementation of the Sendai Framework.

The first mid-term plenary was co-chaired by Lieutenant General Suharyanto, head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), who pointed out the lack of integration in disaster risk reduction financial planning. 

Yayasan Peta Bencana was part of this first meeting of government, non-government, and UN agencies, and civil organization representatives to evaluate the application of the Sendai Framework. Director of Yayasan Peta Bencana, Nashin Mahtani, delivered an intervention calling for the support of open source technology and tools for climate emergency within a Planetary Health Framework as the evolution of and complement to the Sendai Framework.

Drawing attention to vaccine patenting as a failure to respond to the global covid-19 pandemic, Yayasan Peta Bencana’s statement iterated the need for open source tools in addressing the climate emergency. “Sustainable development must recognize the right for all countries to have equal access to the scientific knowledge and tools that are needed to adapt and mitigate risk. Open source tools foster invaluable lateral exchange, and enable us to address global challenges collectively, making far more effective use of investments and resources. Investments for climate adaptation must be, and remain, open source to enable equitable, democratic participation and increased cooperation on technology development, transfer, and maintenance,” said Mahtani.

Yayasan Peta Bencana’s intervention also called for a more comprehensive repricing of risk, accounting for externalities of commercial activities on biodiversity and wellbeing, calculated for at least the next seven generations. Importantly, the intervention stressed the need to develop the parameters of risk repricing with indigenous and local communities, with risk assessments placing local knowledge at the forefront. 

Other interventions were delivered by the Vice Minister of Economy, Planning and Development of the Dominican Republic, Executive Director of National Disaster Management Agency of Liberia, Director General for the National Center for Disaster and Environmental Emergency Mangement of Guinea, Swedish ambassador to Indonesia, Director of the Office of Civil Defense from the Philippines, Director General for Risk and Emergency Management from Ecuador, Director Generaal of Emergency Management Policy and Outreach of Canada, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Deputy Director General of JICA, Deptury Director of Disaster Prevention Division, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare from Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Head of Strategic Development of the National Commsion for Risk Preventiaon and EMergency Care from Costa Rica, Executive Secretary of National Coordination for Risk REduction of Disasters from GUatemala, Executive Director of the Territorial Planning and Civil Protection Office at the Province of Potenza from Italy, First Assistant Secretary at the Humanitarian and Partnerships Division at teh Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade from Australia, Head of Department of Risk Assesment and Planning of the GOvernment Centre for Secutrity from Poland, Senior Engineer at the National Agneyc for Research and Innovation from Indonesia, Director of the National Risk Management Commission from Ethiopia, among several others. During the interventions that were delivered by a diverse range of stakeholders, there was a resounding call to increase commitment to socially transformative outcomes including strengthening the meaningful participation of at-risk communities, women and girls, and youth, as well as the need to address and acknowledge barriers and biases in order to frame appropriate enabling policies and programmes. 

During the third mid-term plenary, addressing the theme of timely multi-lateral risk governance built upon diverse knowledge systems, Director of Yayasan Peta Bencana, Nashin Mahtani, delivered an intervention calling for commitment to involve all residents as equal agents in the co-management of risks.

The intervention emphasized the need to involve local residents as co-designers of risk management systems. “The  scale of challenges we face today demand that we increase the agency of every single resident to participate in their own disaster recovery efforts. We must provide  accessible tools for people on-the-ground to share their local situational knowledge, and harness collective intelligence to support complex crisis management,” Mahtani said.

The co-chairs summary of the GPDRR 2022 resounded many of the concerns expressed at the midterm plenary, iterating the need for systemic transformation in governance and financing, holistic integration of disaster risk reduction across all sectors, the critical need to break silos and disaggregated data including through greater interoperability across systems, increased commitment to community-led disaster risk reduction including emphasis on communication and education.

The co-chairs summary stated:

“Recovery and reconstruction are most successful when they are community-driven, and address inequalities through gender responsive and human-rights based approaches. People are affected differently by disasters. This calls for a participatory and human rights based approach to include all under a principle of “nothing about us without us” in disaster risk reduction planning and implementation. There should be a recommitment to community engagement and to disaster risk reduction that is community-driven and supports existing local structures.”

Convened at the midpoint between COP 26 and COP 27, the Global Platform acknowledged that current emission levels far exceed their mitigation, resulting in an increase in frequency and intensity of catastrophic events, threatening the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. The Global Platform called upon governments to honor the commitments made in Glasgow to drastically enhance financing for and support to adaptation. “There is an urgent need to scale-up disaster risk reduction as part of the solution to address the climate emergency, while raising and achieving the climate ambition,” said the co-chairs. 

Yayasan Peta Bencana is committed to enabling democratic forms of participatory climate adaptation and risk reduction, including providing the necessary tools, knowledge exchange, and infrastructure to address the climate emergency collaboratively. We are honored to have been one of two local NGOs invited to exhibit our work at the “Innovation Platform” agenda of the GPDRR. These innovations were selected by the UN to provide input for the implementation of the UN Secretary General’s Vision for “Our Common Agenda”. The Innovation Platform showcased the software underpinning PetaBencana.id, and its design and development as a process emerging from multi-stakeholder partnerships including with USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance, BNPB, Office of Civil Defense, NDRRMC, Pacific Disaster Center, Humanitarian Open Street Map Team, Civic Data Lab, Twitter, Mapbox, PasangMata, and all residents reducing risk together. The exhibit at the “Innovation Platform” also featured other instances supported by our open source software in the region including MapaKalamidad.ph (Philippines), SmartSaigon (Vietnam), and BreadLine by HongKong FoodWorks.

During a session titled “No Districts Left Behind: Meeting At-Risk Residents Halfway for Next Generation DRR in Southeast Asia”, Alvin Gus, Communications and Public Relations Coordinator at Yayasan Peta Bencana, and Angelika Fortuna, Project Research Coordinator at Yayasan Peta Bencana, drew from our experience in increasing public participation in disaster risk reduction to share the core principles of digital gotong royong as a trajectory to address core themes presented at the GPDRR. 

Yayasan Peta Bencana also had a chance to meet with visiting delegates from our partners at the USAID Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), including Ms. Sarah Charles, Assistant to the Administrator of USAID’s BHA; Mr.Jeffrey Cohen, USAID Mission Director Indonesia; Mr. Harlan Hale, Regional Advisor USAID BHA; Jessica Doxtater, Program Officer USAID BHA.

As Indonesia hosts two major global forums this year, including the GPDRR and the G20 Summit in November, Yayasan Peta Bencana harnessed this convening to kick start a “disaster-prepared hospitality” program. As an amplification to the official GPDRR events, we partnered with official hotels including Nusa Dua Beach Hotel & Spa, Ibis Styles Benoa Bali, Amaris Hotel, and Novotel. Employees of partner hotels were trained in disaster risk reduction including on how to view and share real-time disaster information on PetaBencana.id. Hotel partners installed PetaBencana’s 3d disaster-themed murals in their lobbies, joining in the #SelfiesSaveLives campaign to inform visiting delegates on how PetaBencana.id is used during disasters, and as an example of community-led disaster risk reduction. Hotel partners also displayed the film, “The Same River Twice”, produced by Yayasan Peta Bencana to narrate the story of how open source tools are revolutionizing inclusive forms of disaster risk reduction in the region. 

Photo with Nusa Dua Bali Hotel staff

Yayasan Peta Bencana was honored to also be joined by Bali-based Disaster Risk Reduction Youth Ambassador, Lestari Wulandari, and her students from SMAN 1 Abang, and to have been able to exchange stories with our top trainers, Topandra and Muhammad Arinda, who traveled from Bangka Belitung to participate in the week’s activities. 

We thank all our partners for their support in this shared journey to #ReduceRiskTogether, and remain ready to partner and support efforts for inclusive forms of disaster risk reduction. 

Community-led information sharing through PetaBencana.id supports response and relief efforts as severe flooding strikes Medan.

Heavy rainfall from February 27 to February 28th inundated almost the entire city of Medan, with some areas experiencing flood waters up to 2 meters high.

According to first-hand reports submitted to PetaBencana.id, the extreme weather has blocked major thoroughfares as embankments burst under the increasing intensity of rainfall. Residents have been sharing real-time updates through the PetaBencana.id platform to help keep each other informed, and support response efforts.

According to the Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency (BMKG) extreme rainfall is expected to continue in the coming weeks across several areas in Indonesia, including Sumatra and Java.

We remind residents to check https://petabencana.id for up-to-date information. Residents can also submit real-time flood reports by tweeting #banjir @petabencana, sending a Facebook message to @petabencana.id, or sending a Telegram message to @bencanabot. When we share what we see, everyone can stay informed, avoid danger, and reduce risk together!

Photo submitted to PetaBencana – community organized open kitchens offer safe spaces for flood affected residents. 

Yayasan Peta Bencana, supported by USAID BHA and endorsed by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), conducted a nationwide disaster preparedness event with barangay community leaders from all over the Philippines!

Attended by more than a thousand barangay community leaders, participants simulated real-time disaster information sharing via the MapaKalamidad.ph platform. MapaKalamidad.ph is a free and open-source platform that provides real-time disaster information and transparent communication between residents and government agencies, to reduce risk and increase emergency response times during the sudden onset of disasters. The online platform harnesses the use of social media to crowdsource disaster information from residents on the ground, who often have the most up-to-date information, and displays this information on a live web-based map.

An average of 20 typhoons per year enter the Philippine area of responsibility. In 2021, the country was struck by a total of 22 storms, 9 typhoons, and 5 super typhoons. The most recent one, Typhoon Odette, strengthened from category 1 to 5 in just one day making it difficult, if not impossible, for people to prepare. As the rapid intensification of storms becomes more common due to climate change, real-time information is increasingly becoming the most important resource to understand and respond to rapidly changing situations. 

In the Philippines, millions of residents already actively share real-time updates through their social media networks. However, there is currently no central platform wherein these real-time posts or reports are being gathered, sorted, and geospatially related, for easy access and public viewing. This is the gap that MapaKalamidad.ph fills–the platform deploys AI-assisted “humanitarian chatbots” to automatically respond to disaster-related social media posts, and asks users to confirm their situation by submitting a disaster report. Verified reports are displayed on a data light, mobile-centric, web-based map that is available to all residents, disaster managers, and emergency responders to allow them to view and share real-time flood information and make timely decisions to reduce risk. 

As a community-led disaster information sharing platform, MapaKalamidad.ph is developed through collaboration and sustained engagement with the widest variety of stakeholders. On Thursday, February 24th, MapaKalamidad.ph’s disaster preparedness event invited barangay leaders to participate in a live demonstration that exemplified how crowdsourced information collected via MapaKalamidad.ph could be leveraged to support response in their areas of responsibility. Barangay leaders participated in a “train the trainer” activity, aimed to equip participants to autonomously train their own organizations, community groups, or neighborhoods effectively and repeatedly as preparedness actions over time.

Disaster reports submitted to MapaKalamidad.ph are also pivotal to help emergency managers better understand and respond to on-the-ground situations. Data collected by MapaKalamidad.ph is automatically integrated into OCD’s PhilAWARE Disaster Monitoring platform. According to Joseph Curry, from USAID BHA, “In the true spirit of bayanihan, MapaKalamidad.ph gives us a tool that everyone can use together in disaster response, potentially connecting every barangay right to the top.”

Vice President Leni Robredo’s message during the national launch of MapaKalamidad.ph

Disaster Map Foundation (Yayasan Peta Bencana), supported by USAID BHA and endorsed by the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), officially launched MapaKalamidad.ph, a free and open-source real-time flood mapping platform for the Philippines. 

In 2021, the Philippines was struck by a total of 22 storms, nine typhoons, and five super typhoons. The most recent, Typhoon Odette, strengthened from a Category 1 to 5 typhoon in just one day making it difficult for people to prepare for the arrival of the storm or to evacuate. As the rapid intensification of storms becomes more common due to climate change, real-time information is increasingly becoming the most important resource to understand and respond to rapidly changing situations.

MapaKalamidad.ph is a free and open-source platform that provides real-time disaster information and transparent communication between residents and government agencies, in order to reduce risk and increase emergency response times during the sudden onset of disasters. The online platform harnesses the use of social media to crowdsource disaster information from residents on the ground, who often have the most up-to-date information, and displays this information on a live web-based map. 

MapaKalamidad.ph crowdsources flood updates from residents on the ground who often have the most up-to-date information.

The Philippines has some of the highest social media usage rates in the world, and during disasters, social media feeds are inundated with real-time updates by residents calling for help and posting information. However, there is currently no central platform where these posts or reports can be viewed and accessed collectively or spatially. This is the gap that MapaKalamidad.ph fills—by filtering through disaster-related social media posts in real-time, the platform deploys AI-assisted “humanitarian chatbots” to ask social media users to confirm their situation. Verified reports are displayed on a data light, mobile-centric, web-based map that is available to all residents, disaster managers, and emergency responders in order to allow them to view and share real-time flood information and make timely decisions to reduce risk. 

The official launch was opened by Madame Vice President Leni Robredo. In her opening remarks, she stated:

“In imagining next-gen bayanihan, MapaKalamidad.ph harnesses not just the power of new tools and technologies, it is built on what is best in the Filipino. I urge everyone, especially youth, not just to share and use share [MapaKalamidad.ph] but to help lead your communities in reducing risk, building resilience, and fostering solidarity to face the ever-growing challenges of our changing climate.”

Madame Vice President Leni Robredo continued to highlight the urgent necessity to invest proactively in disaster preparedness, stating:

“We have long been advocating for stronger disaster preparedness, with risk management plans anchored in our climate change realities, budgeting that prioritizes climate-resilient adaptation programs, and empowering systems that consult and engage affected communities at every step of the process. MapaKalamidad is a significant contribution in this endeavor.”

Madame Vice President Leni Robredo’s inaugural report on MapaKalamidad.ph marking the official launch of the national version of the flood mapping platform for the Philippines!

A pilot version of MapaKalamidad.ph was launched in 2020 for Quezon City and Pampanga, in collaboration with the Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) as part of the PhilAWARE project. The platform provides the fastest tool to collect, sort, and visualize real-time disaster updates in order to support response. During Typhoon Ulysess in November 2020, the platform experienced a significant increase in activity as residents in the pilot areas actively shared real-time situational updates about the flood. MapaKalamidad.ph was used to support residents and disaster management units to identify the areas that needed immediate response and rescue efforts. Following the uptake of the platform in the pilot areas, Yayasan Peta Bencana, together with USAID BHA and OCD officially launched the national version of the platform on January 14, 2022.

Nashin Mahtani, Director of Yayasan Peta Bencana, said:

“In building the next generation of bayanihan, it is critical to empower all residents with the tools, agency, and support that will enable communities to self-organize, more equally participate in decision making during emergencies, and adapt to increasingly extreme weather events. By sharing real-time reports about disasters through MapaKalamidad.ph, we can help each other, neighbors, emergency agencies, and first responders better respond to emergency situations.”

According to Joseph Curry, from USAID BHA,

“While we depend on the government to be the authoritative source on damages and needs, we also recognize that those affected have the most up to date information and have an essential role to play. MapaKalamidad.ph adds a new dimension to data and information collection by empowering citizens to directly report hazards, critical lifelines, and damages in their neighborhoods via social media. In the true spirit of bayanihan, MapaKalamidad.ph gives us a tool that everyone can use together in disaster response, potentially connecting every barangay right to the top.”

Any resident in the Philippines can submit flood reports anonymously by tweeting #flood or #baha @mapakalamidad, sending a Facebook message to @mapakalamidad, or sending a telegram message to @kalamidadbot, and check https://mapakalamidad.ph for real-time flood updates to navigate safely.

In 2020, M+ Museum of visual culture in Hong Kong acquired our software for their permanent collection of 21st century urban design in Asia; the source code remains open and in use, but they also commissioned Yayasan Peta Bencana to make a video to tell the story of the project for their visitors. 

The Same River, Twice is a two-channel film installation that narrates the story of Jakarta as a megacity struggling to adapt to climate change during the tropical monsoon season, and how an integrated approach to software design is harnessing collective resident epistemologies to mitigate urban risk. The film made its first public preview at the opening of the museum on November 12^th, 2021 and is available to view in person as part of their permanent collection.

 Yayasan Peta Bencana, supported by USAID BHA and endorsed by Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) and the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), officially launched a regional disaster risk reduction youth program for Indonesia and the Philippines. As more frequently occurring extreme weather events continue to strike both countries, young leaders expressed their solidarity and commitment to reducing risk with the hashtags #Youth4GotongRoyong and #Youth4Bayanihan. The launch was opened by Dr. Raditya Jati, Deputy of Systems and Strategy of BNPB, Usec Ricardo B. Jalad, Executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and administrator of the OCD, and Mr. Harlan Hale, Regional Advisor of USAID BHA, who welcomed hundreds of youth and over 60 community organizations attending the online opening. 

Led by the conviction that mitigating disaster risk must involve all residents, the youth ambassador program commits to amplifying the agency of young people all across the region so that they can equally participate in disaster recovery efforts and make informed and safe decisions for themselves and their communities during emergencies. Half of the world’s population are youth under the age of 30, and they are often the first and most affected when weather related disasters strike. According to the 2020 World Disasters Report, Indonesia and the Philippines are among the most vulnerable to weather related disasters and it is inevitable that the countries will continue to experience an increase in extreme weather. To cope with the increasing frequency and severity of weather-related events, experts emphasize the necessity to focus efforts on adaptation; minimizing exposure and vulnerability by increasing capacities for residents to respond to shocks, which must necessarily include the most vulnerable groups. 

Nashin Mahtani, Director of Yayasan Peta Bencana, said: “In building the next generation of gotong royong and bayanihan, it is critical to empower youth leaders with the tools, agency, and support that will enable communities to self-organize, more equally participate in decision making during emergencies, and adapt to increasingly extreme weather events. By sharing real-time reports about disasters through PetaBencana.id and MapaKalamidad.ph, youth ambassadors will continue to help each other, neighbors, emergency agencies, and first responders better respond to emergency situations.”

PetaBencana.id (in Indonesia) and MapaKalamidad.ph (in the Philippines) are real-time disaster information sharing platforms run by Yayasan Peta Bencana. The online platforms harness the use of social media to crowdsource disaster information from residents on-the-ground, who often have the most up-to-date information. Moving far beyond passive data mining, the platforms deploy “humanitarian chatbots” to automatically respond to social media posts about disasters and ask users to confirm their situation by submitting a disaster report. These reports are used to map disasters in real-time on a freely accessible website, so that anyone can understand rapidly changing conditions during emergency events. Operational since 2013 in Indonesia and 2019 in the Philippines, the platforms provide transparent communication between residents and government agencies, and have been used by millions of resident users, emergency managers, and first responders to make time-critical decisions about safety and navigation during disasters. 

“This is the best event to encourage youth participation in disaster risk reduction. Yayasan Peta Bencana’s DRR Youth Ambassador program is aligned with the vision of BNPB, and the 2045 vision of Indonesia. The nation’s resilience to disaster depends on building an effective and efficient disaster emergency system through participation of the young generation. As the leaders of today and tomorrow, we invite all youth to be part of this initiative.” said Dr. Raditya Jati, Deputy of Systems and Strategy of BNPB.

Usec. Ricardo Kalad from the Office of Civil Defense said,

“Use this day’s launch as an avenue to help you work in your respective communities as DRR Youth Ambassadors and support the efforts to empower the youth, your loved ones, your neighbors, and our countrymen towards safety, adaptation and resilience in these times of the new normal. This goal is most crucial to the future of our people as we face the challenges that lie ahead. I trust that our youth is always up to the task.”

The DRR youth ambassador program will provide youth with the training and support to become “first reporters” with PetaBencana.id and MapaKalamidad.ph. As Indonesia’s youth are the most frequent and enthusiastic users of social media—spending an average of four hours a day just on social media—empowering them to use these same platforms to participate in disaster risk reduction will be transformational for coordination and recovery. Monthly campaigns, podcasts, and skill-building webinars with a variety of experts from government, business, academia, artists, scientists, and community groups will strengthen capacities for youth to become active leaders and drivers of transformation in their communities through a multi-dimensional, multi-sectoral, and multi-disciplinary approach. 

Forecasts have alerted an increased chance of above-normal rainfall over much of the ASEAN region in the coming months, with Indonesia likely to experience 80% above normal rainfall as early as October. In preparation for the upcoming extreme weather the launch event kicked off with a 24-hour preparedness challenge, calling on all youth participants to train their neighbors and friends about actionable steps to reduce risk and disaster information sharing. In under 24 hours, youth trained 1529 people!  

As part of AHA Center’s 2021 Humanitarian and Emergency Logistics Innovation Expo (HELIX), Yayasan Peta Bencana organized the first public gathering of contributors to CogniCity OSS as part of a session titled “Urban Collective Intelligence: From Crowd Sourcing to Crowd logistics”. Bringing together experts with a diverse set of backgrounds and experience in utilizing and contributing to CogniCity OSS, the public session explored how the design and development of open source systems can harness the power of crowdsourcing to aid disaster and humanitarian response and recovery.

Speakers included Etienne Turpin, co-founder of CogniCity OSS; Ferth Manasay, Project Manager of MapaKalamidad.ph in the Philippines; Daisy Tam, Founder of Breadline; Deepthi Chand Alagandula, Director and Co-Founder at CivicDataLab in India; Nguyen Minh-Tam, Former Project Manager at Smart Saigon; and Nashin Mahtani, director of Yayasan Peta Bencana.

Highlighting the relationship between software and social behaviours, the session discussed how a multi-sectoral design methodology is helping to shape the development of softwares for next generation disaster risk management and logistic coordination. The session expanded on the significance of open source networks as critical knowledge sharing infrastructures for the ASEAN context; allowing experts from different backgrounds and geographies to share, exchange, and create ideas for the future of humanitarian management.

Community-led information sharing through PetaBencana.id supports response and relief efforts as severe flooding strikes East Nusa Tenggara

Tropical Cyclone Seroja has triggered flooding, landslides, and extreme winds in East Nusa Tenggara, causing severe damage across the region since April 4th, 2021. 

According to first-hand reports submitted to PetaBencana.id, the extreme weather has collapsed bridges, washed away homes, and caused power outages. Residents have been sharing real-time updates through the PetaBencana.id platform to help keep each other informed, and support response efforts.

According to Raditya Jati, Head of Data, Information and Communications at the National Emergency Management Agency of Indonesia (BNPB),

“Extreme weather due to tropical cyclone Seroja still has the potential to occur in the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) region in the next few days.” 

We remind residents to check https://petabencana.id for up-to-date information. Residents in East Nusa Tenggara can also submit real-time flood reports by tweeting #banjir @petabencana, sending a Facebook message to @petabencana.id, or sending a Telegram message to @bencanabot. When we share what we see, everyone can stay informed, avoid danger, and reduce risk together!

Community-led information sharing through PetaBencana.id supports response and relief efforts as Jakarta is inundated for the third major time this year

On February 20th, #banjir and #JakartaBanjir were the highest trending topics on Twitter Indonesia, as the capital city was inundated for the third major time this year, following particularly heavy rainfall from Friday night (19/2/2021) to Saturday morning (20/02/2021). As Jakarta residents turned to social media to share updates about the flood, they were greeted by “Disaster Bot” – a novel AI-assisted chatbot that monitors social media for posts about disasters and automatically invites users to submit more detailed disaster reports. These crowd-sourced reports are used to map disasters in real-time, on a free and open source website, PetaBencana.id.

As flooding blocked major thoroughfares and toll roads, disrupted commuter lines, and cut off electricity to over 60,000 homes, residents continued to share updates about the flood situation in order to stay alert and make timely decisions about safety and response. Hundreds of residents submitted flood reports to PetaBencana.id, alerting each other about water levels, broken infrastructures and road accessibility. The Jakarta Emergency Management Agency also updated the map with official information about flood affected  areas, and monitored the map to respond to resident needs. PetaBencana.id experienced a 2000% in activity in under 12 hours as residents actively checked the map to understand the flooding situation, avoid flooded areas, and make decisions about safety and response. 

Residents share updates about flood-affected road access through the open source information sharing platform, PetaBencana.id. Thousands of residents used the map to navigate safely as heavy rainfall inundated the city for the third major time this year.

As flooding incidents continue to occur with increasing intensity across the country, community-led information sharing is once again proving its significance in supporting response and planning at multiple scales. Data from PetaBencana.id is consumed by the National Emergency Management Agency’s (BNPB) InAWARE Disaster Monitoring platform to support decision making. BPBD DKI’s application Pantau Banjir also integrates real-time flood information from PetaBencana.id to push flood updates to residents. Over the course of the weekend, several media platforms turned to PetaBencana.id as a verified information source to support news coverage about the flooding situation across Jakarta’s neighborhoods, including the Jakarta Post, Kompas, Tribun, and the Jakarta Globe, among others. Once again, this weekend’s incidents highlight the significance of community engagement in disaster information sharing.

Government agencies and media platforms use crowd-sourced information from PetaBencana.id to share disaster updates. Left: screenshot of Pantau Banjir application; Right: screenshot of Jakarta Post graphic produced with data from PetaBencana.id

People on-the-ground are best equipped to provide location-specific information updates, and observations arising from lived experiences are critical to gain insight on how we collectively respond to the changing behavior of floods in the city. One of the most common observations shared by residents was the persistence of flood waters in their neighborhoods even several days after the rain had stopped; an observation that can be attributed to the increased concretization of the city and overflowing canals.

Yayasan Peta Bencana thanks all residents of Indonesia for continuing to share critical information, and applauds the indispensable role of all residents in helping neighbors, government agencies, responders, and researchers develop strategies for climate adaptation. 

As BMKG predicts extreme rainfall to continue until April, Dwikorita Karnawati, Head of BMKG, emphasizes the need for improved coordination and synergy between multiple stakeholders for climate adaptation efforts.

Residents of Indonesia can submit real-time flood reports by tweeting #banjir @petabencana, sending a Facebook message to @petabencana.id, or sending a Telegram message to @bencanabot. We remind everyone to check https://petabencana.id for up-to-date information and to stay safe!

PetaBencana.id is a part of the USAID BNPB InAWARE: Disaster Management Early Warning and Decision Support Capacity Enhancement Project in Indonesia. PetaBencana.id is supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The project is made possible through collaboration with project partners including the Pacific Disaster Center at the University of Hawaii, the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team, and Civic Data Lab; our implementing partners at the National Emergency Management Agency (BNPB) and Jakarta Emergency Management Agency (BPBD DKI Jakarta); and, our data partners including Mapbox, Twitter, Qlue, and PasangMata.

Residents shared information through MapaKalamidad.ph in support of response efforts as a fifth storm hit the region in just two weeks.

The Philippines experienced five consecutive typhoons in late October and early November. While still recovering from Typhoon Molave (Quinta), Typhoon Goni (Rolly). Taifun Atsani (Siony), and Taifun Etau (Tonyo), rains lashed the eastern and northern parts of the country and compounded the impact of Taifun Vamco (Ulysses), the fifth storm to hit the region in just two weeks.

The typhoon left severe impacts on roads making them impassable due to flooding, and disrupted power and communications. The state of reservoirs in some areas exacerbated flooding in low-riverine areas such as Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Cordirella Administrative Region and Metro Manila.

Amidst the widespread flooding situation that halted the activities and movements of the people of the Philippines, the hashtags @FLoodPH and #RescuePH were trending on social media, where people called for help and posted flood information in their areas. MapaKalamidad.ph, a newly launched disaster information platform, has capitalized on the active social media presence to aid community-based risk reduction. Using an AI-based chatbot to monitor and respond to social media posts, the platform collects and confirms reports from citizens into real-time flood maps. The platform saw a significant increase in activity during Typhoon Ulysses due to active citizens reporting updates on the flood situation. The free and open web-based maps have been used to support citizens and disaster management units to identify areas in need of response and rescue. MapaKalamidad.ph was launched in late September 2020 as part of the PhilAWARE Program supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development Bureau of Humanitarian Affairs (USAID BHA) in collaboration with the Philippine Office of the Civil Defense (OCD), Pacific Disaster Center (PDC), and Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT).

Joseph Curry of USAID BHA said,

“While we rely on the government as the authority in charge of impact and relief, we also recognize that the affected parties have the most up-to-date information and play an important role. MapaKalamidad.ph adds a dimension to data and information by empowering citizens to report disasters, conditions and damages in their neighborhoods through social media and apps. In the spirit of bayanihan, MapaKalamidad.ph becomes a shared tool in disaster response, connecting each barangay with the higher levels of government.”

Recent unpredictable typhoons have underscored the importance of real-time, verified information in supporting response efforts under volatile conditions. As the storm quickly turns and floods inundate the country, netizens using the platform have great potential to be a key resource in sharing flood map information to aid safety and response decision-making.

MapaKalamidad.ph is currently available for Quezon City and Pampanga residents where citizens can share flood information anonymously via Facebook message @mapakalamidad, or Telegram message @kalamidadbot. Government agencies are also monitoring the map to respond to disaster situations and provide assistance to residents.

With La Nina conditions continuing, heavy rains are expected in the region in the coming months. The Disaster Map Foundation encourages Filipinos to share critical information to help others, the government, and response teams in the event of a disaster.

Check https://mapakalimad.ph for flood updates and stay safe!
MapaKalamidad.ph is part of the USAID DisasterAWARE Program for ASEAN Regional and National Capacity Development for Hazard Monitoring.

MapaKalamidad.ph is made possible through the support of the American people through USAID, and through collaboration with partners such as the Pacific Disaster Center at the University of Hawaii and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team; implementation partners Office of Civil Defense, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, Pampanga Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and Quezon City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office; data partners including Twitter and Mapbox.