PORTALJABAR, BANDUNG CITY - On Disaster Preparedness Day (HKB) some time ago, people had the opportunity to use "artificial intelligence" (AI) devices. More than 75 organizations throughout Indonesia teach to train community preparedness.

This activity was initiated by the Disaster Map Foundation supported by the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) in the form of a "real time" disaster reporting simulation competition with the Indonesian humanitarian chatbot, DisasterBot. More than 75 organizations participated in the competition, such as the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), non-governmental organizations, schools and companies throughout Indonesia.

The competition began with the creation of a disaster-themed mural in the participants' environment. After that, each organization invited local residents or communities to take selfies with the available murals. After that, they share the information with DisasterBot.

Bot is an online chatbot - which has now been integrated with WhatsApp, Telegram, Twitter and Facebook - that can reach people in disaster-affected areas and help them send disaster reports in "real-time"

PetaBencana.id received more than 8,010 simulation reports as of April 26 2023 as various organizations compete to train millions of community members on sharing disaster information in "real-time".

These reports are stored on the free and open source platform, PetaBencana.id, and are used to assist government agencies and first responders in carrying out response and recovery. Furthermore, DisasterBot helps them to monitor the dissemination of disaster information thereby contributing to increasing awareness and disaster preparedness on a large scale.

Director of the Disaster Map Foundation, Nashin Mahtani, said that the scale of the disaster we are currently facing cannot be overcome by one institution alone. According to him, this is very important to enable every community to participate in disaster risk reduction and recovery efforts.

Meanwhile, BNPB through the Directorate of Disaster Risk Mapping and Evaluation emphasized that this event was very beneficial for the campus community, especially in expanding disaster management efforts more broadly. PetaBencana.id provides valuable data, essential for validating historical studies and assessments, which are essential for comprehensive disaster risk evaluation.

BNPB and the Disaster Map Foundation hope that community participation will increase in preparedness, especially through the information features on the Petabencana.id dashboard which will later be accessible to the public.

On the other hand, the University of Indonesia (UI) welcomes competitions involving various organizations and the community. UI Geography Lecturer Nurul Sri Rahatiningtyas said that this activity could foster understanding of technological developments and disaster knowledge.

This is in line with the theme raised by BNPB at the 2024 National Disaster Management Coordination Meeting regarding technology development and innovation in disaster management. (Rep no)