Indonesia, which is geographically located on the equator, is a country that has diversity, including various natural features on land and sea. With many mountainous areas and waters causing Indonesia to be prone to disasters, many studies continue to be carried out for the management of natural disasters that often occur.

With this background, the International Office (IO) of Universitas Diponegoro (Undip) in collaboration with the Undip Center for Disaster Mitigation and Coastal Rehabilitation, BASARNAS and the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of Central Java held the “Magnificent Javanese Interdisciplinary Course (MEJIC) of 2022”. The MEJIC 2022 summer course aims to provide further understanding to international students regarding natural disasters that occurred in the city of Semarang in particular and in Central Java in general.

The event which took place on 18-30 July 2022 was attended by more than 20 international students from various universities in Indonesia. At the opening of the MEJIC 2022 event on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, at Undip Inn Hotel, IO Undip presented two speakers, namely Prof. Sudharto P Hadi, MES, Ph.D (A Lecturer at FISIP Undip) and Agus Haryono, S.S, MBA (Director of Preparedness of BASARNAS).

MEJIC 2022 was officially opened by Undip Rector, Prof. Dr. Yos Johan Utama, S.H., M. Hum. He welcomed the arrival of the MEJIC 2022 participants who took part in the summer course at Undip for 2 weeks. “Indonesia is located between two oceans and is crossed by a ring of volcanoes, making the region prone to disasters such as floods, earthquakes, landslides and so on. This short course aims to provide the latest knowledge and study results from various scientific fields to overcome disasters in Indonesia. Let’s discuss it well to save more lives in the future,” concluded Prof. Yos in his speech.

Prof. Sudharto P Hadi, MES, Ph.D in his presentation, “Environmental Disaster in Coastal Area in Central Java” explained the tidal flooding and land subsidence, the influencing factors and implications of flooding, as well as steps taken by the government and local residents to tackle the flood disasters.

Disaster management was carried out to minimize the increase in water levels, air, temperature, rain, and tropical storms that could result in the land sinking, tidal flooding, reduced aquatic yields, disease emergence, flooding and land subsidence, and reduced agricultural yields and food scarcity. Prof. Sudharto said that in the city of Semarang with the topography of highlands, lowlands, mountains and beaches, efforts that could be made to cope with flooding include the construction of polders, tree planting and regular water control.

Then, Agus Haryono, S.S, MBA delivered his presentation with the theme “Contingency Plan for Mount Merapi Eruption”. In disaster management, BASARNAS carried out risk management (preparedness) and crisis management (operations). Particularly, to deal with the eruption of Mount Merapi, which was still active today, BASARNAS under the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) made a Cluster Planning plan located in Central Java, where the agenda included Cluster of Post Management, Cluster of Search and Rescue, Cluster of Facility, Cluster of Medical and Cluster of Food Supply and Logistics.

To better understand disaster mitigation, especially in Central Java, in addition to participating in discussion sessions with resource persons, MEJIC 2022 participants had the opportunity to visit Timbulsloko village, Demak to study tidal flooding and its impact on the environment. The participants also visited the Undip Disaster Laboratory located in Gulon Village, Magelang to observe the impact and mitigation of volcanic eruptions. (Titis – Public Relations)

Source: undip.ac.id