In 2018 alone, authorities recorded 2,526 disasters throughout the country, which also included major calamities in two provinces: a devastating earthquake in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, and another one that triggered tsunamis in Palu, Central Sulawesi.

These disasters, grouped together with floods and landslides, killed a total of 4,231 people.

One reason why the disasters claimed so many people is that Indonesians still lack awareness of disaster hazards and infrastructure, despite living in such a geographical setting.

Yet, today we have seen so many young people try to use their technological savvy to mainstream this awareness among a wider public.

One such person is Michael Mulianto, currently a 12^th grade student of Jakarta Intercultural School. He recently produced a digital application called BAPAT (short for Bantuan Cepat, or rapid response).

As its name suggests, the application helps users to rapidly cope with specific types of natural disasters, as it provides a set of first aid and safety tips to specific types of disasters that frequently occur in Indonesia.

Besides holding this know-how guide, the application allows users to connect with National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Indonesia National Armed Forces (TNI) and hospitals using its emergency hotline. The application also contains an AI-powered chat box that can answer users’ inquiries on various possible scenarios involving natural disasters and health issue.

Michael worked with Army Interagency Task Force commander Col. Farid Ma’ruf, formerly the Lombok Military Resort commander, to conduct baseline field surveys to develop the application.

“[I came] to Lombok to witness firsthand how the military recovered the island […] they traveled across Lombok to observe and gather data to assess the damage level in different parts of the island,” Michael said during a discussion on post-disaster rehabilitation at the @america cultural center on Nov. 9, which he initiated.

The discussion invited young people, mostly senior school students, in order to boost their awareness on the issue and to prompt them to take part in a collective movement to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters that could possibly befall the country in the future.

Esa Unggul University professor Kazan Gunawan and Kesatuan Bogor Academy of Economics accounting professor Moermahadi Soerja Djanegara also appeared on the panel of expert speakers alongside Farid and retired Army general Komaruddin Simanjuntak.

The application is currently available for download via the Google App store.

 “Currently, I am updating the application so that it can warn you if there are upcoming natural disasters in certain locations across Indonesia’s 33 provinces using a data-collecting algorithm,” Michael said.

He added that he was looking forward to working together with BNPB to promote the application’s use among Indonesians across all walks of life.

The stereotype that Indonesian youngsters are apathetic about social issues is not totally true. Hopefully, with his endeavors, Michael can inspire a new generation of Indonesians to also pave new ways toward digital-based disaster preparedness initiatives.

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