Disaster Response, FMIPA UI Students Support Cianjur BPBD in Conducting Assessment and Mapping of Earthquake-Affected Areas

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake rocked Cianjur Regency, West Java on Monday, November 21, 2022, at 13:21 WIB, the earthquake was felt as far as the University of Indonesia (UI) which is located quite close to the Cianjur Regency area. As a form of sympathy and concern, UI through 12 students who are members of the UI Nature Lovers Student Activity Unit (Mapala) and the Geography Mountaineering Club (GMC) of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (FMIPA) UI moved quickly through the UI Cares action on Monday after the natural disaster occurred.

This aid distribution action was carried out from Tuesday, November 22 to 24. In carrying out this UI Cares activity, Mapala UI coordinated with related agencies, one of which was the Cianjur Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD).

In addition to distributing logistics in the form of accommodation and consumption to earthquake victims, UI students also supported BPBD activities in assessing isolated areas and mapping affected areas so that aid could be distributed to the victims who needed it most

Fauzan Abdurrahman Masykur (Geography 2020) Head of GMC UI said "On the first day we immediately coordinated with the Cianjur BPBD regarding the assessment, the next day we returned to the Cianjur BPPD to request data on the number of buildings affected by the earthquake, after that we were directed to the Earthquake Response Command Center at the Cianjur Regent's Pendopo and then directed again to the Cianjur Sub-district Office,"

However, said Fauzan, at that time the sub-district did not have data on building damage, so the sub-district opened the opportunity to collaborate with GMC UI to conduct a survey of affected buildings using the By Name By Address geotagging method.

"So the By Name By Address geotagging survey is a matching of the KK name to the building where they live. Its purpose is to be applied to the distribution of aid which will definitely be right on target," said Fauzan.

Furthermore, in order to check the damage to the structure of several buildings consisting of private homes of residents and public buildings in the area such as shophouses and schools, the team moved quickly to conduct an assessment by observing the shape, criteria, and level of damage. The results of this examination are claimed to be a reference in providing recommendations.

"In addition to residents' residences, we also conducted an assessment of the condition of shophouses and schools in the Cianjur area, to determine the level of damage. From the results of the assessment, we obtained an overview to recommend to related parties, one of which for schools is about how educational activities in the area can be restored immediately," he said.

And until today, to the FMIPA UI public relations team, Fauzan informed that as many as 230 buildings have been successfully recorded by him and his team.

"Residential buildings such as houses and shophouses that we have assessed, currently total 230 buildings," he added.

On various occasions, Mapala UI and the Geographical Mountaineering Club FMIPA UI have been recorded as actively providing assistance to disaster victims in the affected areas, especially for the Sudi village area, Salahuni village, Nagrak village, Cianjur District, West Java.

The activities carried out by all volunteers from Mapala UI and the Geographical Mountaineering Club FMIPA UI were in the form of setting up refugee tents, while assistance from the GMC UI team was more specific regarding spatial data collection of mapping of affected houses and buildings.

UI Peduli is a form of community service (pengmas) from UI, both in the form of actions and social assistance, which is distributed throughout the country. The UI Peduli Team is under the coordination of the Directorate of Community Service and Community Empowerment (DPPM).

So far, UI Peduli has always moved quickly to areas experiencing disasters, by collaborating with several parties/partners, starting from ILUNI UI, the local government, providing assistance to the victims.

About Mapala UI

Mapala UI is one of the university-level Student Activity Units that was established on December 12, 1964. Mapala UI is a forum for University of Indonesia students to engage in outdoor activities, contribute to society, and care about environmental preservation. Mapala UI was established on Bukit Ciampea, Bogor. The name used at that time was Mapala Prajnaparamita. Prajnaparamita is taken from Sanskrit which means Goddess of Knowledge. Mapala also means fruitful or successful.

The idea of ​​forming a pioneering organization of nature lovers on campus was initiated by Soe Hok Gie (M-007-UI), a prominent student activist. Fed up with the situation full of intrigue and political conflict among students at that time, Hok Gie proposed to form an organization that could be a forum for various student groups to gather.

About Geography Mountaineering Club FMIPA UI

At the beginning of its establishment, GMC UI was formed together with the establishment of the Geography Department of FMIPA Ul and was only a group of students who liked to climb mountains and enjoy other outdoor activities. Initially, the position of GMC UI was a sub-field of KSMG (Geography Student Senate Commission) which was directly under the sports field, but in line with the development of the GMC organization, it then changed to a special field and finally became a Semi-Autonomous Body with the basis that had been determined by the founders of GMC since 1983.

The development of GMC is actually more influenced by the development of environmental problems faced by the community in maintaining their environment which are increasingly clear and the need for effective action feels more urgent, while the complexity of the problem actually makes efforts to find a solution more difficult.

Moving from there, little by little the direction of GMC's policies and activity orientation changed. By adhering to the goals of the organization stated in the Articles of Association and beliefs in what individuals, groups, institutions or governments can do to help solve environmental problems and implement world conservation strategies.

News source: https://sci.ui.ac.id/