Mount Merapi in Central Java is one of the most volatile and dangerous volcanoes in Indonesia, and in 2010, a significant eruption resulted in 277 fatalities. Following the disaster, research highlighted weaknesses in community evacuation practice, with many communities ignoring official warnings. Lessons have been learned from this and now there is much better communication […]
Tag: disaster risk management
Research highlights risks for the relocation of the Indonesian capital
The announcement in 2019 about the transfer of the Indonesian capital from Jakarta to Borneo, in the province of East Kalimantan, set off alarms among the scientific community. The location had been identified as an area of potential tsunami risk. In early 2019 a research team from Heriot-Watt University, led by Dr Uisdean Nicholson, started […]
Resilience or Resistance? Negotiated mitigation of landslide risks
Communities in informal settlements around Medellin or São Paulo live at constant risk of losing their homes to landslide. Built on steep slopes, with limited infrastructure, a severe rainstorm can cause devastation to these communities. The research team worked to empower local communities to assess their own risks and take mitigating action to make their […]