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A 6.4 magnitude earthquake that struck the Indonesian island of Lombok in July and a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck the island of Sulawesi in September, left significant destruction, damage, and loss.

Over the last few months, Yayasan Peta Bencana has been speaking with disaster managers, emergency response teams, community volunteer groups, and student volunteers who experienced the events or were directly involved in their aftermath, in order to learn about the biggest challenges faced.

Difficulties in delivering aid and difficulties for evacuation, largely arose due to a lack of access to timely information. A lack of real-time situational updates about access conditions amplified confusion and risk on the islands;  response teams were unable to reach shelters and victims due to unexpected disruptions to access. Residents trying to evacuate faced similar challenges.

The real-time flood map, PetaBencana.id, has proven that crowdsourced information sharing reduces disaster risk and assists in relief efforts. Recognizing the value of community-led data collection, sharing, and visualization, Yayasan Peta Bencana is now working on expanding the map to support other disaster events, including earthquakes.

As part of our efforts to develop a disaster mapping platform for earthquakes, Yayasan Peta Bencana has been engaging in processes of co-design and co-research with a wide variety of stakeholders. In November 2018, we held a research/design workshop in collaboration with Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS). The workshop – which brought together government emergency disaster managers, journalists, students, academics, volunteer groups, community leaders, and climate agencies – provided a multi-perspective insight into strategies for earthquake response and disaster preparedness as participants shared their unique concerns, experiences, and knowledges.

In order to stimulate discussion, the workshop was structured as a game based on real scenarios experienced during the recent earthquakes. The game was successful in encouraging participants to become quickly involved in evaluating informational flows, identifying key gaps, and discussing opportunities to support response using crowdsourced information.

We were very excited to see that at the end of the workshop, very different stakeholder groups (who shared that they otherwise would not have the opportunity to speak together) were exchanging contacts; participants expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to learn from diverse groups, and were eager to build capacities to work more closely together in preparedness for future events.

On August 12th, 2018, the Peta Bencana Foundation transformed a portion of a heavily traversed road in Semarang with an anamorphic street art installation, exclusively designed towards building resilience for the forthcoming monsoon season! Every Sunday morning in Semarang, main roads in the center of the city are closed off to vehicles for the weekly Car Free Day event, making way for thousands of walkers, joggers, bikers, and skaters. Peta Bencana took this opportunity to launch a preparedness event for the 2018/2019 monsoon season; as passers-by stopped to take selfies with the street art installation, they were reminded to continue to share their selfies with PetaBencana.id during the monsoon season, and contribute to real-time community flood-mapping. PetaBencana.id gathers confirmed crowd-sourced reports about flooding from various social media channels and visualizes these on a free web-based map, so that everyone has the information they need to stay safe and avoid danger during flood events. This information is shared with emergency management agencies, who are also able to update the map with time-critical flood-related information, creating a transparent two-way communication channel for everyone in the city. The Jakarta Emergency Management Agency (BPBD DKI Jakarta) also took this opportunity to spread awareness about their disaster management programs to the Car Free Day visitors.  BPBD Kota Semarang members also explained their role in response efforts during flooding and the value that the crowd-sourced reports coming into PetaBencana.id would have for disaster managers in supporting evidence-based response.

Several residents expressed the importance of understanding the role of BPBD Kota Semarang during flood events. BPBD Kota Semarang members expressed the value of having the opportunity to not only inform the public about their initiatives, but also the significance of being able to engage in deeper conversations with university students, even inviting the students to visit their Data and Command Center. The feedback demonstrated that the event was successful in supporting the strengthening  of community networks, and building collective understandings of community based efforts for flood resilience.

Several car free day visitors expressed their enthusiasm for the event, explaining that it was uncommon and very welcome to have a free public event, that engaged various communities, NGOs, and disaster management agencies. Visitors were eager to learn about the launch of the platform in Semarang, commenting that with the increasing frequency of flood events in Semarang, the platform would serve as a useful tool to share flood information and support them in navigating the city safely. 

…PetaBencana.id is a useful tool to build resilience at a community level as it provides a way to easily share time critical information of flood affected areas with various communities and neighborhoods. The ability to share flood information without having to download a new application or register a username is a unique and highly effective way to crowd-source disaster information and build a network of active resident reporters… 

On August 11th, 2018 Yayasan conducted a workshop for PMI Korps Suka Rela (Red Cross Indonesia Volunteer Corps). 51 participants attended the workshop, representing over 13 different universities from Semarang. The workshop was opened by Mr Bambang Kristiyono, as a representative of the Semarang PMI office. Mr Kristiyono shared the enthusiasm of PMI in hosting the workshop, as they were excited to have a platform through which their network could easily share flood information in real-time. He mentioned that this would not only support their own response efforts, but also provide a way to easily share time critical information of flood affected areas with various communities and neighborhoods, thereby helping to build resilience at a community level as well.

During a hands on training session, participants were eager to test various methods of reporting flood information to the platform, as they were active on many social media channels already integrated into PetaBencana.id.

Participants commented specifically on the ease of reporting through PetaBencana.id, mentioning that the ability to share flood information without having to download a new application or register a username, was unique, highly effective and would enable the platform to enroll a wide network of resident reporters who would be encouraged to share flood information in an uncumbersome way.

During the session, participants were also eager to learn about the mechanisms of verifying crowd-sourced reports, raising questions about how the platform ensures the validity of data. Intrigued by the verification methods employed by PetaBencana.id, participants requested the integration of additional social media channels and requested for the platform to expand to other hazards.

Participants were eager to spread the use of the platform with their own networks, expressing the value of sharing the use of crowd-sourced data for building community resilience.

…The ease of reporting through PetaBencana.id will enable more efficient reporting, and allow us to respond more effectively to flood events…. 

To continue building a growing network of active resident reporters and encourage effective sharing of disaster information in Semarang, Yayasan Peta Bencana is conducting workshops and outreach events with a range of communities active in the disaster management ecosystem in preparation for the upcoming monsoon season.

On August 10th, 2018, Yayasan Peta Bencana conducted a workshop with Semarang’s Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD Kota Semarang) network of volunteer communities. During disaster events, these independent community groups coordinate with BPBD Kota Semarang to aid in immediate first response efforts before the agency is able to deliver formal response. They also serve as key points of contact between the regional disaster management agency and the residents in their respective communities. These groups are active in raising disaster awareness within the local communities in which they are formed.

35 participants attended the workshop, representing a total of 18 different community volunteer groups, ranging from police volunteer groups, scout volunteer groups, first response volunteer groups, youth volunteer groups, village volunteer groups, disability volunteer groups, and regional search and rescue teams.

Yayasan Peta Bencana also held a workshop for BPBD Kota Semarang’s network of volunteers from the Kelurahan Siaga Bencana (Disaster Prepared Village) community group. In Semarang, each village is represented by a volunteer who acts as a first responder within that village in the event of a flood and also acts as the main point of contact between BPBD Kota Semarang and residents, responsible for reporting the on-the-ground situation. These volunteers are trained directly by BPBD Kota Semarang to manage disasters at the village level. As critical actors in Semarang’s disaster management ecosystem, it was great to be able to extend the socialization of the platform to this group, and share how PetaBencana.id could support more effective disaster reporting.

41 participants representing 39 different villages in Semarang, attended the workshop.

Over the course of both workshops, participants shared their inputs on the platform and on the use of crowd-sourced reporting for flood resilience. Participants raised questions about how the platform ensured the validity of crowd sourced reports, and responded positively when they learned the verification methods employed by PetaBencana.id. Participants expressed that the confirmed incidents of flooding displayed on PetaBencana.id would be useful to support evidence-based action and response. Participants expressed that the ease of reporting through PetaBencana.id would enable more efficient reporting, thereby facilitating volunteers in responding more effectively to flood events.

Excited by the prospects of utilizing crowd-sourced reports to support timely disaster management in the city, participants also expressed interest for the platform to address additional hazards.

…Sharing disaster information through PetaBencana.id will not only support disaster managers and first responders, but will support response and strengthen resilience at the level of individuals and communities…. 

To continue to build a growing network of information sharing and strengthen community resilience in Semarang, Yayasan Peta Bencana is conducting workshops and outreach events with a range of communities active in the disaster management ecosystem, in preparation for the upcoming monsoon season.

As part of this initiative, Yayasan Peta Bencana has been collaborating with universities in Semarang to engage university students through training workshops about how to accurately and effectively share disaster information.

On July 25th, 2018, Yayasan Peta Bencana held a workshop with Universitas Negeri Semarang (UNNES) (State University of Semarang) in the Faculty of Social Science. By collaborating with the faculty’s weekly “Research Sharing” event, the workshop not only socialized the platform but was able to stimulate further discussion regarding disaster management ecosystems. This provided valuable feedback, and also further stimulated student and academic interest in building resilient communities.

Yayasan Peta Bencana also held a workshop with Universitas Negeri Diponegoro (UNDIP) at the Department of Urban and Regional Planning.

Following a hands-on training session, participants expressed enthusiasm in seeing how sharing disaster information could support response and strengthen resilience from the level of individuals and communities, in addition to supporting disaster managers and first responders. 

Students and lecturers expressed their interest in the platform and its further use, especially in the possibilities of using the data for flood relief and further research on modelling and monitoring flood events in Semarang. This enthusiasm encouraged participants to share the use of crowd-sourced reporting with their own networks.

PetaBencana.id is recognized by Ars Electronica for demonstrating the latest developments in social software, building community action and interaction, strengthening the role and ability for civic participation, and promoting social innovation as well as cultural and environmental sustainability through internet technology.        

On June 11th, 2018 Ars Electronica announced the winners of the 2018 Prix Ars Electronica competition, awarding PetaBencana.id with an honorary mention.

Recognized as the “world’s most time-honored media arts competition”, the Prix Ars Electronica was launched in 1987 by Ars Electronica co-founder Hannes Leopoldseder. The prize awards projects displaying excellence in seven categories: Computer Animation, Interactive Art, Digital Communities, Digital Musics and Sound Art, Hybrid Art,  and u-19 Create Your World (a category for kids up to age 19). Previous winners of the prestigious prize have included Pixar in 1987, Wikipedia in 2004, and Wikileaks in 2009.

This year 3,046 entries from 85 countries were submitted for the Prix Ars Electronica Prize. PetaBencana.id was one among 12 projects that received honorable mentions for the Digital Communities category. ‘Digital Communities’ recognizes projects that demonstrate the latest developments in social software, build community action and interaction, strengthen the role and ability for civic participation, and promote social innovation as well as cultural and environmental sustainability through internet technology.

PetaBencana.id is a free and open source platform for crowd-sourced flood reporting in Indonesia. The platform gathers confirmed reports of flooding from various social media channels and visualizes them on a free web-based map in real-time. In order to filter through the noise of social media the software listens for specific keywords in social media posts (such as “flood”) and deploys a “humanitarian chatbot” that initiates AI-assisted conversations with residents to collect verified disaster reports. These reports are displayed on a free public map in real-time, alongside relevant emergency data issued by local agencies. Emergency managers monitor the platform to assess the situation, respond to resident needs, and, as part of a transparent two-way communication system, update the map with time-critical information to alert residents to flood in their neighbourhood. The publicly available map is used by residents, government officials, and first responders to stay informed about changing flood conditions across the country, in order to prepare for and respond to emergency events. Since its debut in 2014 the platform has been used by over half a million residents during monsoon flooding.

PetaBencana.id has proven that community-led data collection and visualization reduces disaster risk, increases emergency response times, and assists in relief efforts. Currently supporting a coverage area with over 50 million residents in Jabodetabek, Surabaya, and Bandung, PetaBencana.id is now being further developed to address additional hazards and other geographies in Indonesia. 

On February 4th 2018, the Peta Bencana Foundation transformed the Fatahillah Square at Kota Tua (Old Town Jakarta) with an anamorphic street art installation. Located along the east bank of the Ciliwung river and surrounded by the Jakarta History Museum, Puppetry Museum, and Fine Art & Ceramics Museum, the square heavily fills up with residents, visitors, artisans, and jugglers on car-free-day Sunday mornings. Peta Bencana took this opportunity to meet with thousands of PetaBencana.id users, as well as to engage with new audiences and launch the second of a series of disaster preparedness events for the 2017/2018 monsoon season. (Read more about our first event here!)

As passers-by stopped to take selfies with the street art installation, they were reminded to continue to share their selfies with PetaBencana.id during the monsoon season, and contribute to real-time community flood-mapping. PetaBencana.id gathers confirmed crowd-sourced reports about flooding from various social media channels and visualizes these on a free web-based map, so that everyone has the information they need to stay safe and avoid danger during flood events. This information is shared with emergency management agencies, who are also able to update the map with time-critical flood-related information, creating a transparent two-way communication channel for everyone in the city. The Jakarta Emergency Management Agency (BPBD DKI Jakarta) also took this opportunity to spread awareness about their disaster management programs to the Car Free Day visitors.

We were excited to see thousands of residents engaging with community art to spread messages of awareness and solidarity in preparedness for the forthcoming monsoon. The installation demonstrated the effectiveness of art installations in communicating, reaching, and engaging a wide and varied demographic.

One visitor commented:

“This is a great example of how community-based art can be used for disaster preparedness in a fun and engaging way. What a great community-building and teaching tool as well!”

It was a great opportunity to hear the stories and experiences of the thousands of residents who already use PetaBencana.id, as well as to reach thousands of new users who expressed great interest in learning about the platform and displayed an enthusiasm towards adopting the platform to improve safety for the upcoming monsoon season. We were also encouraged by conversations with residents visiting from other cities in Indonesia, who expressed an eagerness to see the PetaBencana.id platform expand to their locations!

As the crowd collected and conversations grew, passers-by quickly displayed an increased enthusiasm as they begun to share their own stories and experiences of disaster preparedness.

Seeing the success of the combined power of the selfie, social media, and community-art installations in public spaces in supporting community-based resilience, we look forward to hosting the next event! Stay tuned to find out more!

…i’d like to share a video i found so eye-opening and powerful that it deserves to be singled out in a post…I thought i knew about the havoc that palm oil plantations are wreaking on the environment, i had no idea it was this bad (burning an area the size of my country in only 5 months!!)        

Peta Bencana’s science outreach has received an honorable acclaim from Régine Debatty, critic and founder of the award winning blog, we-make-money-not-art.com.   In a review about the Verschwindende Vermächtnisse: Die Welt als Wald / Disappearing Legacies: The World as a Forest exhibition,  Debatty singles out a video produced by the Peta Bencana Foundation, for its effectiveness in powerfully conveying the impacts of peatland destruction and the importance of peatland ecologies for the Earth System and its climate. As part of the foundation’s commitment to building infrastructures for mutual aid through processes of collaborative co-research, the Peta Bencana foundation worked with research scientists at Friends of the Earth Indonesia (WALHI) and Akademi Drone Indonesia to produce this art/science outreach project. The Verschwindende Vermächtnisse: Die Welt als Wald / Disappearing Legacies: The World as a Forest exhibition is currently on display at the Zoologisches Museum, Centrum für Naturkunde, Universität Hamburg.

On December 10th, 2017, the Peta Bencana Foundation transformed a portion of the heavily traversed Sudirman-Thamrin road with an anamorphic street art installation, exclusively designed towards building resilience for the forthcoming monsoon season! Every Sunday morning in Jakarta, main roads in the center of the city are closed off to vehicles for the weekly Car Free Day event, making way for thousands of walkers, joggers, bikers, and skaters. Peta Bencana took this opportunity to launch a preparedness event for the 2017/2018 monsoon season; as passers-by stopped to take selfies with the street art installation, they were reminded to continue to share their selfies with PetaBencana.id during the monsoon season, and contribute to real-time community flood-mapping. PetaBencana.id gathers confirmed crowd-sourced reports about flooding from various social media channels and visualizes these on a free web-based map, so that everyone has the information they need to stay safe and avoid danger during flood events. This information is shared with emergency management agencies, who are also able to update the map with time-critical flood-related information, creating a transparent two-way communication channel for everyone in the city. The Jakarta Emergency Management Agency (BPBD DKI Jakarta) also took this opportunity to spread awareness about their disaster management programs to the Car Free Day visitors.

Peta Bencana was glad to see the enthusiasm displayed by people of all ages excited to engage with community art and continue to spread awareness through sharing their selfies on social media. Passers by were intrigued by the perspective of the installation, which was designed to have a specific vantage point, and eager to take photos – posing to rescue friends and family from the painted flood.

One visitor noted: “Setting up an art-based installation in the middle of the road during Car Free Day is a great way to capture the attention of thousands of residents and engage with the public in Jakarta to spread awareness about community resilience!”

Residents as well as staff from Jakarta’s Emergency Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), expressed their enthusiasm and interest to see similar events occuring more frequently around the city. We are looking forward to create more selfie-spots for residents in Indonesia, and embracing the combined power of the selfie, social media, and community-art installations in public spaces, to support community-based resilience!

Stay tuned for our next event!

Continuing a series of lecture events held in collaboration with universities across Indonesia, on November 28th, 2017, Peta Bencana visited the Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) Surabaya. At the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, part of the Faculty of Design, Architecture, and Planning, 75 students (24 male and 41 female) attended PetaBencana’s lecture on the use of open source software for climate adaptation. We were warmly welcomed by Bapak Adjie Pamungkas, ST.,M.Dev.Plg.,Ph.D, Head of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, and Bapak Mochamad Yusuf, ST, M.Sc., professor of Urban and Regional Planning.

A screening of “The Same River Twice”, a documentary produced by PetaBencana that narrates the situation of Jakarta as a megacity struggling to adapt to climate change during the tropical monsoon season, prompted engaging conversations about information infrastructures for disaster events. Following an explanation of the development and use of PetaBencana.id within this context, students displayed optimism towards the platform and were excited to try the methods by which they could participate in crowdsourced disaster mapping through various social media channels and instant messaging applications. We were excited to see an enthusiastic uptake of the platform, as we continued to exchange ideas with students about the various ways by which PetaBencana.id, and the use of open source data, could be scaled and further optimized.

Following a productive exchange of ideas, Peta Bencana and ITS have been actively discussing possibilities for future collaborations to support the development of open-source software and open data to help the residents of mega-cities adapt to climate change.