The FMIPA UI Community Service Team, chaired by Dr. Tito Latif Indra, S.Si., M.Si., in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) and the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud), held a workshop on Technology Applications in Independent Mitigation and Evacuation and Environmental Conservation on September 17-19, 2019 at the FMIPA UI Multidisciplinary Laboratory Building and the Ina-DRTG Building of the BNPB Sentul PB Training Center.

This activity, which is a series of events in the 2019 IPTEKS for the Community community service program, involved 40 teachers and scout leaders from elementary, middle, high, and vocational school levels throughout Depok City.

Depok City, as one of the buffer zones for the capital city of Jakarta, is not free from several problems, including flooding, landslides/landslides, fires, and several other social problems.

As a state university located in Depok, UI should play a greater role in addressing the city’s problems, including the potential for disasters in schools. Schools, as a means of early education, can be one of the best avenues for transforming knowledge about disasters, beyond the home.

Dr. Raditya Jati, S.Si., M.Si., Director of Disaster Risk Reduction at the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), was present as a guest speaker. He explained that disaster risk reduction in schools can begin with scouting activities. This is because scouting activities teach life skills that are very useful when disasters occur.

“Scouting teaches us to survive in the wild, making it easier for us to integrate disaster risk reduction programs in schools,” he said.

On the second and third days, activities focused on simulating disasters that could potentially occur in Depok, such as floods and fires, as well as potential earthquakes. megathrust in southern Java and the readiness of schools to become disaster-safe schools.

The activity began with disaster preparedness, the creation of school evacuation maps, and concluded with the establishment of a disaster management system in each school. The enthusiasm of each participant was evident, including Mrs. Acih Suryanih, M.M., a teacher at SMA Negeri 4 Terbuka Depok and a disaster volunteer in Depok City.

“Thank God I was given the opportunity to attend this event because I gained new knowledge about disaster-safe school standards and the development of disaster-preparedness standard operating procedures (SOPs) in schools,” said Acih.

The excitement was also evident on the face of one of the scout leaders, Mr. M. Nuraziz, M.Pd. from SMA Negeri 1 Depok, who was very enthusiastic and impatient to implement it directly at school.

“Upon arriving at school, I will immediately report to the principal to conduct a disaster management simulation, especially regarding fires,” he said.

Dr. Tito Latif Indra, S.Si., M.Si., hopes that this activity can be a trigger for schools in Depok City to care about disaster education.

“Depok will become a very densely populated city in the future, which will create even greater problems and the potential for disasters. Therefore, we need to be prepared now by taking anticipatory steps to prepare Depok to become a Disaster Resilient City,” said Tito.