Kemadang

Kemadang Village is one of many villages in Gunung Kidul Regency of Yogyakarta Special Region, which lies in a high tsunami risk zone. The area is facing the Indian Ocean directly while also being threatened by the Sunda Megathrust that can produce devastating earthquakes up to 8.7 Magnitude, which may also trigger tsunami. Considering that earthquakes and tsunamis are still unpredictable and might occur anytime, it is necessary to improve the ‘at-risk community’s preparedness in order to minimize the risks and losses that might be caused by the disasters.

The community team, which consists of community members, village government, and volunteer organizations for the disaster preparedness team, plays a very vital role as the initiator as well as driving force for the community tsunami awareness, preparedness, and education. Furthermore, the community also has local wisdom that is essential for conducting mitigation efforts. The existence of the local wisdom and the community-based effort in collaboration with the authority is the key for its preparation to fulfill all of the 12 tsunami ready indicators in Kemadang and getting the UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready recognition.

In late 2021, National Tsunami Ready Board (NTRB) of Indonesia verified the indicators and decided to give the recognition for the community as Tsunami Ready Community at National Level. The recognition also serves as a ‘Green Light’ for the community to propose for Tsunami Ready Community recognition from UNESCO-IOC, which they received the recognition in December 2022.

Kemadang Documents