By Kresensia
Risna Efrieno
Volcanoes
are a natural phenomenon that cannot be separated from human life. The
existence of volcanoes is mapped in a mountain series known as the ring of
fire, in which, Indonesia is a part of them. Among the many active volcanoes in
Indonesia, one of them is Mount Merapi, which is located on the border between
Yogyakarta Special Region and Central Java, which currently has an Alert level.
It can be understood that at this level the area around the slopes of Mount
Merapi is on alert to anticipate the eruption.
The
community of Turgo Village has also been prepared for the eruption of Merapi,
as one of the closest villages to Mount Merapi which is prone to eruptions.
Turgo village, Purwobinangun subdistrict, Kapanewon Pakem, Sleman, Yogyakarta
Special Region is located on the south side of Mount Merapi, approximately 5 kms
from the peak. What kind of preparation to anticipate the eruption of Mount
Merapi, how the local people respond to the existence of Mount Merapi, and how
the adaptations they have made, are interesting things to learn through the
students' exposure activities of Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta.
The
exposure or study visit was a continuation of a visit from the Merapi Volcano
Museum (27/02/2021). The students met four people who told them about the
dynamics of life in the Turgo village. It made the curiosity and questions arising
in the minds of students regarding the experiences of the residents on the
slopes of Mount Merapi are expressed. Indra Baskoro Adi, as a disaster
practitioner living in Turgo, shared his experiences with the residents living on
the slopes of Merapi and how to adapt by learning the eruptions that had
happened before.
The experience of the Merapi eruption was revealed by Hadi Suwanto, a resident, a survivor of the Merapi eruption in 1994. “The incident at that time happened very quickly and coincidentally one family were having a wedding ceremony, so many people died there. I tried to save myself but unluckily I was still strucked by hot cloud, worse I lost my wife, children and grandchildren, and this made me much discouraged. As a native of Turgo, now I have the responsibility to keep this village, even then we consider Merapi as a friend, not a threat of disaster because we live with Merapi. There is something positive that we feel from this mountain, the water is sufficient and we get sand from the rest of the eruption to build our house and the ash from the eruption can fertilize the soil here. So if Merapi is active, we will leave it or evacuate for a while," he said.
Turgo village, with its fertile soil, made residents reluctant to leave it, so some residents remained there, including the village administrator. Related to the disaster preparation, Turgo village learned from previous experiences that when there was status increase of Mount Merapi, the residents would evacuate according to the government's recommendation. This was revealed by Misran, the head of the local leader who accompanied the students in the dialogue.
Sariyem, one of the survivors of the Merapi eruption, agreed with the awareness of evacuating and saving herself. At that time, when she saw that the black clouds looked even higher than the Turgo hill, she ran away from her bamboo-walled house towards the brick house but it was located upwards closer to the Turgo hill. Fortunately, she was immediately aware and turned around, and ran away. These incidents made the women in Turgo aware of learning Merapi and together with other women they were active in the refugee camp by cooking, preparing public kitchens, and cleaning in the refugee camps.
These stories show that experience is a good teacher. The choice to remain in vulnerable areas must be balanced with awareness and preparation, both independently and involving other parties. The expression of Merapi as a Friend is not easy to understand and it needs an introduction to the characteristics of Mount Merapi itself, as well as an appreciation of how to live in an area prone to eruptions.
This
exposure experience became a new experience for participants to have a new perspective
on natural occurrences as part of life. Being friendly with nature is the duty
and responsibility of human while continuing to maintain the balance and to
preserve the nature. ***
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