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SIMULATION DRILL
COMMUNITY BASED DISASTER READINESS PROGRAMME Background 18 months after the deadly earthquake which struck Java Island on May 27, 2006, the Government of Indonesia together with Local and International NGOs are now focusing on providing assistance for earthquake victims in Disaster Risk Reduction and Disaster Preparedness following the completion of emergency and recovery phase. It is believed that a prepared community is essential to reduce loss and damage, including minimizing the loss of human once a disaster hits. Muslim Aid Indonesia - Yogyakarta Sub-Field Office has been conducting Community Based Disaster Readiness Programme (CBDR) under AusAID funding under the Australia Indonesia Partnership. This is to empower local people by giving training on disaster risk reduction and management (including evacuation techniques and first aid), as well as to facilitate the communities to develop a their own disaster management model design by themselves, which will finally help them to become aware-prepared-skilled communities to cope with any future disaster. The programme was held in three Sub-villages in the Village of Pleret, District of Bantul, Yogyakarta Special Province. The Sub-villages are Gunungkelir, Karet, and Pungkuran were chosen because they are geographically located in a vulnerable area. Surrounded by two big rivers and lying on the Opak Caesar fault makes the area very vulnerable. These villages were the worst affected areas in Bantul when the Java Earthquake hit. Material of the Training The main purpose of the programme is to train 20 local people in each Sub-village indisaster issues and set them up in a “CBDR Team”. This team will be responsible to take emergency action once a disaster hits the area. This team is also responsible to train other local people with what to do in a disaster and how to prevent huge loss and damage. The training covered: Day 1: Disaster: An Overview
Day 2: Tips and Tricks in a Disaster
Day 3: Hazard Mapping
Day 4: Hazard Mapping
Day 5: Job Description Divination of CBDR Team
Day 6: First Aid Techniques As part of the programme, Muslim Aid Indonesia-Yogyakarta Sub-Field Office carried out a “Simulation Drill” in Sub-village of Karet and Gunungkelir, Bantul. This is to remind everybody to the potential for disaster in the future and to demonstrate the skills of CBDR team in reacting to a disaster. Held on Sunday, November 18, 2007, the Simulation Drill actively involved the Sub-villagers and more than 1,700 people participated in the event, which was attended by representatives of local government and Australian Indonesia Partnership. The event took earthquake as the main theme. Simulation Drill “Mbah Sitas, 60 years old, was informed by one of the CBDR Team members of Karet sub-village that on Sunday, November 18, there would be a Simulation Drill on disaster management by Muslim Aid. She was very enthusiastic to join the simulation as few days before the CBDR Team of Karet Sub-village had given training to the villagers on first aid techniques and she would have an opportunity to watch the demonstration directly. She had been informed that CBDR Team would do the demonstration and all of the villagers were just asked to run from the disaster site to the safe place with hands covering their head. At 09.00 am, Mbah Sitas and around a thousand Karet people were gathered at the house of Wakijan, the Head of Karet Sub-village. They were from all age groups. The youngest participant was a 4 months baby in cot accompanied by his parents, while the eldest was a 70 years old grandmother. People were waiting for the simulation impatiently. Then, the Master of Ceremony announced that the preparation was complete. People were asked to get into the houses in the near area. Mbah Sitas half running got into a house. She just realized that it was so quiet, the crowd before had gone. She held her breath waiting for the siren as the signal that an earthquake had hit. The same thing happened to all the people there. And suddenly, the signal was heard. People were running to the safe place from all directions Mbah Sitas also run, following people around her. For a moment, she felt as if time had stood still and she forgot that it was only a simulation. The memories of her collapsed house, her dead brother, and the sufferings of the May 27 Earthquake made her begin to cry. She knew, it was not only her who cried. Real panic and real trauma arose once more in Karet Sub-village that morning. When she was still trying to control her emotions, she saw some people in white T-shirts skillfully giving assistance to the injured victims. She remembered, it was the CBDR team who had trained her previously. She realized that there were many people yelling for help around her until the CBDR team came. People with broken legs, bleeding heads, shock, and back injuries -- all were helped by the CBDR team. The team also quickly helped a pregnant mother got out from her house. Mbah Sitas was trembled when suddenly she saw one of the CBDR members was trying to help an unconscious man near her. instinctively, she used the traditional remedy of letting him inhale some clove oil. She forgot that the man was not unconscious at all and he was just taking a role.” Mbah Sitas was not the only simulation participants, who was impressed and touched by the event. The simulation brought them back to the cloudy morning of May 27, when many of them lost their families and property. Disaster preparedness, which was a strange thing for them previously has now becomes one of their needs. People were happy that in their sub-village, a CBDR team had been formed. They hoped that the team would be the pioneer to educate the whole sub-village in disaster preparedness and management. a. Detail of Agenda The simulation started at 7 am, involving around 700 people in Gunungkelir Sub-village while in Karet Sub-village the simulation started at 9 am with about 1000 people. The step-by-step agenda was follows: i. Simulation started with the sound of siren, which was followed, by “kentongan” sound. “Kentongan” is a Javanese traditional way of signaling danger.
ii. People who had been instructed to wait in their houses in the area, ran from all directions to the predetermined safe refuge. They used their hands to cover their heads.
iii. Some CBDR Team members took on the role as victims with broken legs and arms, bleeding heads and hands, injured backs, in shock, pregnant women or being unconscious, dead or suffering trauma.
iv. After a consolidation, CBDR Team carried out their main tasks. The Administrative and Information team contacted emergency numbers asking for help and recording the number of victims, including the type of injuries they suffered.
The Evacuation team looked for the victims and demonstrated how to help the victims correctly. They evacuated the victims from the site to a safe place.
The Evacuation team set the tent up for the refugees to give first aid to the victims until the vehicles were ready to bring them to hospitals for further assistance.
The Logistic team prepared a public kitchen and provided emergency food and other supplies needed. v. The simulation finished at 11 am after the tent had been set up. b. Participants Around 1700 people participated in the simulation drill in sub-villages of Karet and Gunungkelir. Those 1700 participants consist from all level of ages, from 4 months baby to a 70 years old grand mother.
Representatives of local government and Australia Indonesia Partnership were also present in the event. c. Pictures
Closing
The simulation drill held in sub-village of Karet and Gunungkelir has been a positive point for the implementation of the project. The Australia Indonesia Partnership stated that they were very interesting in discussing extending the project with Muslim Aid. Muslim Aid will follow up coordination with the Australia Indonesia Partnership office in Yogyakarta
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