Indonesia is one of the most disaster-prone countries globally, largely due to its geographical location along the Pacific Ring of Fire, which makes it vulnerable to earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and floods. In 2023, 5,400 disasters were reported in Indonesia, of which 99.35% are dominated by hydrometeorology disasters, such as droughts, typhoons and floods.(BMKG)
When floods and other disasters hit Indonesia, residents turn to Peta Bencana, a community-powered, open source early disaster warning system, for real-time updates on the situation. It’s a platform powered by the people, for the people, and it’s made a life-saving difference across Indonesia’s most vulnerable regions.
What Peta Bencana is doing goes beyond just giving information; it’s reshaping how people approach disaster preparedness. Rather than waiting passively for news or official warnings, communities now play an active role in their own safety. That cultural shift is powerful.
Berdaya Talk is an initiative that explores the stories of change makers and the initiatives they have developed to support sustainable development in Indonesia. This time, we are joined by Nashin Mahtani – Director at Yayasan Peta Bencana.
How did the idea for starting Peta Bencana came about?
Growing up in Jakarta, floods are somewhat inevitable but what’s more shocking to me is the pace and severity at which these floods happen. What were once considered “five-year floods” became near-annual occurrences. I watched how the floodwater marks climbed higher on walls year by year, and this underscored a troubling reality: climate change was making extreme weather events more frequent and severe.
In 2013, a group of researchers studying flood mapping in Jakarta piqued my interest. After joining them and becoming inspired by their early successes, I decided to establish Peta Bencana, aiming to expand this flood-mapping efforts across the country and eventually cover other hazards, such as wildfires and haze, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
Bridging Information Gaps with Community Engagement
When a disaster happens, timely, accurate information is critical for both residents and authorities. For instance, floods have managed to displace more than 3.8 million people in Indonesia in 2023 (BMKG). Having fast and accurate access to information about these disasters can significantly help reduce damage and prepare better responses.
Unlike traditional disaster reporting systems, Peta Bencana leverages the immediacy of community-sourced data. Residents in disaster-prone areas are often the first to observe hazards like rising floodwaters, so who better to relay this information than those directly affected?
By capturing data from people on the ground, Peta Bencana fills in the blind spots often left by conventional sources. Traditional news outlets or agencies like BMKG (Indonesia’s Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency) usually need more time to report localized events, especially in remote areas.
In one recent example from West Kalimantan, residents used Peta Bencana to stay informed about a nearby wildfire, which was not covered by mainstream news channels. Thanks to the platform, they prepared ahead, securing masks and taking steps to protect themselves from smoke exposure.
How Peta Bencana Works: The Power of Social Media Integration
An essential component of Peta Bencana’s approach is accessibility. Rather than requiring users to download a separate app – which research shows is unlikely during a crisis – the platform integrates seamlessly with popular social media channels. By using social media, you can already be part of the solution.
The beauty of Peta Bencana is its simplicity. Here’s the process:
- A resident posts about a flood or other disaster on social media with keywords like “flood. ”For instance, if someone tweets about a flood using the term "banjir" (Indonesian for “flood”), Peta Bencana’s bot automatically detects the keyword and prompts the user to confirm if they would like to submit a report.
- A bot reaches out to confirm the location, severity, and details. This process guides users to verify their location, add photos, and provide descriptions.
- After verification, the report pops up on Peta Bencana’s public map, accessible to everyone. What was previously a simple social media post is now a verified, geo-tagged report on the platform.
The bot has become Peta Bencana’s most valuable asset, allowing them to capture a wealth of information that residents are already sharing online.
Driven by the spirit of gotong royong – a uniquely Indonesian tradition of mutual aid and collaboration – Peta Bencana embodies the belief that every individual can and must contribute to disaster preparedness and recovery efforts. The platform strengthens community resilience by making critical data accessible to residents who may need to act immediately, often well before formal responders can arrive.
Rapid Response and Government Coordination
The speed and accuracy of Peta Bencana’s crowd-sourced data are also invaluable to government agencies and first responders, enabling them to direct resources more efficiently.
BMKG has noted that the platform offers the fastest source of information available during disasters, as it draws on reports from those who are witnessing events in real-time. This approach helps authorities assess the severity of conditions, identify urgent needs in particular areas, and even plan logistics – avoiding impassable roads, for example, or allocating resources to neighborhoods hit hardest by an event.
Ensuring Data Integrity: Building Trust Through Verification
Despite being community-led, Peta Bencana is always on the lookout to maintain its data integrity. After all, the effectiveness of a platform like Peta Bencana hinges on trust in its data. To maintain accuracy, they have implemented several layers of verification.
For instance, the platform doesn’t simply mine all keywords related to disasters like “banjir”, but prompts users to confirm specific details about their situation and employs keyword filters to ensure that posts using terms like “banjir” aren’t mistaken for figurative or unrelated uses, such as “banjir air mata” or “banjir diskon”. Additionally, users can flag erroneous reports in their area, adding another layer of community-driven quality control.
Behavioral scientists also played a key role in designing Peta Bencana’s user experience, with research shaping the platform to minimize reporting barriers while ensuring quality data. Over the years, the system’s design has proven effective; since 2013, Peta Bencana has yet to receive a false report, a testament to the robustness of its verification process and the community’s respect for the platform.
Ensuring Data Integrity: Building Trust Through Verification
Unlike some Western nations where disaster preparedness may focus on individual readiness, Indonesia’s cultural heritage prioritizes collective resilience. Here, there is an intrinsic understanding that survival often depends on mutual support within the community.
By fostering a sense of ownership, Peta Bencana encourages people to participate not just for their safety but for the well-being of their neighbors, amplifying the platform’s reach and reinforcing local preparedness.
A unique aspect of the platform is the feedback loop it provides. Users can view and share their reports, creating a sense of agency and responsibility. Unlike other systems where submitted data disappears into a void, Peta Bencana allows people to engage with their own contributions actively, reinforcing their role in safeguarding their communities. This feedback loop strengthens the platform’s impact, creating a collaborative environment where users feel part of a broader solution.
The Role of Technology: Choosing People Over Sensors
While other disaster response organizations invest in IoT sensors and complex equipment, Peta Bencana takes a simpler approach, working with the resources we already have on the ground.
In Jakarta’s humid climate, sensors can be challenging to maintain and are often subject to theft, adding costs and risks. Instead, Peta Bencana leverages the smartphones that millions of Indonesians already own, viewing people as mobile sensors capable of far more detailed assessments than any single device.
By tapping into this existing resource, the platform avoids many logistical and financial challenges, enabling rapid scalability without the need for costly infrastructure.
The platform’s people-first philosophy also extends to reporting metrics. For instance, in areas affected by haze and wildfire smoke, sensors typically measure air quality in scientific terms like PPI levels. Peta Bencana, however, allows residents to report physical symptoms – such as headaches, eye irritation, or nausea – based on community feedback.
This approach not only makes data more relatable and actionable for the general public but also aligns with local practices for assessing air quality, making it easier for people to make informed health decisions.
What are some important lessons you’ve learned from building Peta Bencana?
Reflecting on the journey of building and running Peta Bencana for the past eight years, it’s been a continuous, exponential learning curve. Every day has brought new challenges, and with it important lessons – I feel that the journey never feels repetitive. Here are some that stood out for me:
Embracing Challenges as Opportunities for Growth
I think one of the most powerful lessons has been understanding that every challenge holds an opportunity. Initially, I might have gone into this project a bit naively, with the feeling that anything is possible. But as I stumbled upon more complex challenges, I realized that each difficulty forced me to adapt, learn, and ultimately grow.
Honestly, if I knew what I was signing up for back then, I might have hesitated. Yet, looking back, I was able to overcome it and discover strengths I didn’t know I had.
Building What We Personally Need
Another lesson is that sometimes we end up building things that we ourselves need or that reflect what we want to see in the world. Peta Bencana began as a practical response to a real problem, but it has also been a journey of self-discovery. It helped me identify and address gaps in my own understanding of disaster management, empathy, and how communities connect during crises.
Collaboration as a Core Strength
Peta Bencana’s success lies not just in its technology but in the collaborative spirit that fuels it. Over the years, we’ve worked with adopters of Peta Bencana’s technology across different countries like Vietnam, Philippines and Hong Kong. In an exchange of knowledge and know-hows, its great to learn new best practices and solutions to problems we encounter at Peta bencana.
Never Underestimate the Power of Community
Finally, witnessing the dedication of communities, especially during times of crisis, has shown me the resilience and compassion people are capable of. The way people contribute to Peta Bencana and work together to overcome adversity is continually inspiring. It’s taught me that technology can only go so far on its own; it’s the human connection and collective spirit that truly drive change.
