Are Community Preparing for Coastal Hazards? A Case Study on a Small Island in Aceh, Indonesia

Coastal areas are experiencing a high population density that is increasing the vulnerability of community to coastal hazards. Therefore, this study aimed to comprehensively evaluate the preparation level of community to confront coastal hazards. Disaster preparedness was recognized to play an essential role in reducing potential losses caused by flood. However, limited studies assessed community preparedness on small islands using face-to-face interviews with community. A household survey was also conducted on community living on Pusong Island. The results showed that community preparedness was still low (38.34% of 100). Even though tidal flood events were experienced, community were not forced to take preparedness actions and move from Pusong Island. The low level was due to socialization activities and community capacity building related to coastal hazards rarely performed by the government. This study also suggested the importance of increasing the preparedness on remote islands through integrated coastal area management.


INTRODUCTION
Coastal areas are characterized by high population density (Neumann et al., 2015) and the number of community has increased significantly (Oktari et al., 2021).According to data released by the United Nations, 10% of the global population lives in coastal areas (UNDP, 2018).The large population of community is caused by several reasons, namely rich in resources, trade access routes, sea transportation, and recreational facilities.These areas also offer various ecosystems used for human welfare and the trend is expected to increase in 2030 and 2060 (Neumann et al., 2015).
The large population of community in coastal areas increases the vulnerability to hazards (Hanson et al., 2011).This is caused by global climate change, which impacts sea-level rise and increases hazards such as tidal flood and storms (Neumann et al., 2015).Therefore, measuring community preparedness for coastal hazards is very important.Preparedness can increase community resilience in the face of disasters (Cope et al., 2018;Paton, 2003) and this reduces the vulnerability to coastal hazards (Aksa & Sinulingga, 2022).
In recent years, cities located in coastal areas of Aceh have experienced tidal hazards.The case of Banda Aceh City exemplifies the severity of the challenges posed by escalating sea levels,

ARTICLE INFO
Furqan Ishak Aksa et al. / Geosfera Indonesia 8 (3), 2023, 231-244 with an annual increase of 7 mm.A substantial 11% of the city expanse could fall prey to inundation from tidal flood within the next century.Moreover, the area situated 4 km inland from the coastline remains exposed to the threat of tsunamis, compounding the array of hazards confronting Banda Aceh City (Oktari et al., 2020).The same thing also threatens coastal city of Langsa located at an altitude of 0 m -25 m above sea level, and most of the southwestern area is a coastal alluvial lowland elevated 8 m above sea level (Aksa & Afrian, 2022).Therefore, it is important to know community preparedness on coastal areas against tidal flood hazards.
Limited studies assessed community preparedness for coastal hazards, specifically on small islands in coastal area of Langsa City.It is essential to measure community preparedness for coastal hazards on small islands.This is because small islands have received less attention in terms of disaster hazards reduction (Shultz et al., 2016).Small islands have remote characteristics, limited infrastructure, and have social and economic inequality compared to mainland areas or other big cities (Shultz et al., 2016).This causes community living on islands to be highly vulnerable to coastal hazards (Aksa & Afrian, 2022).In addition, community in small islands often experience delays in aid distribution and the low capacity of local governments in disaster hazards reduction (Rampengan et al., 2014).This study aims to examine community preparedness on coastal areas in facing coastal hazards.Disaster preparedness has been recognized as playing an essential role in reducing potential losses caused by flood.

Study Area
. This study was conducted in a coastal community living on Pusong Island, West Langsa District.The island had the highest coastal disaster hazards index in Langsa City (Figure 1).Pusong Island is located in West Langsa District with 250 hectares and has a population of 1,797 (BPS, 2019) in the outermost area of Langsa City.The island consists of four hamlets, namely peaceful, Santosa, prosperous, and safe.It experiences tidal flood and the geographical condition is unfavorable due to tidal waves.Pusong Island also has limited infrastructure and a lack of clean water.

Data Analysis
This study uses face-to-face interviews with Pusong Island community.To measure community preparedness, this study uses an instrument developed by Oktari et al., (2021).The instrument consists of several indicators, namely (1) Knowledge of coastal hazards, (2) Emergency response, (3) Early Warning System, and (4) Resource Mobilization.
Knowledge of coastal hazards is measured by several indicators, namely the impact of sealevel rise and public knowledge related to tidal flood characteristics.Households with a good level of knowledge can be assumed to be more prepared to take anticipatory action against tidal flood hazards in the area.Knowledge is the main component of forming awareness to carry out emergency response plans, early warning, and resource mobilization (Oktari et al., 2020).Emergency response is measured by asking for steps or efforts to anticipate and adapt to individuals and households in a coastal flood disaster.This is also related to access to essential services such as clean water, electricity, and sanitation.
Early Warning System consists of a combination of technological capabilities and human capabilities to act on the results of these early warnings.Meanwhile, Resource Mobilization is related to community actions such as training programs, setting up savings, insurance, land/houses in areas with low hazard potential, and other livelihoods.Question items related to Resource Mobilization consist of several activities, such as participating in a training program/workshop on coastal hazards mitigation, first aid training, thawing, and rescuing victims, and clean water treatment.A total of 210 respondents representing households were selected using the purposive random sampling method.

Characteristics of Respondents
The total respondents were 210 representing the date house on Pusong Island, West Langsa District.The sampling method used purposive sampling with criteria aged 20-60 years, living in a coastal area, and an official resident of the city of Langsa as evidenced by an ID card.Table 1 shows the characteristics of respondents.Most of respondents are 30-39 years old and 70% are housewives.A large number of female respondents was because most of the family heads were working as fishermen at the time of the interview.

Knowledge of Coastal Hazards
Community knowledge about coastal hazards is moderate with a percentage of 51.34%.Most Pusong Island community know that sea-level rise has an impact on coastal erosion, increased flood hazards , submerged coastal areas, and clean water crises.Respondents answered correctly above 70% in the question item and the high level of knowledge was because of tidal flood events.Community often experienced a clean water crisis when there was a tidal flood and different adaptation strategies to the hazards were conducted.
Community are not fully aware that sea-level rise also impacts infrastructure damage and a decrease in pond productivity.This is presumably because community in the area have not directly experienced the impact of rising sea levels on pond productivity.Furthermore, there exists limited understanding regarding the underlying factors of coastal erosion.Tides stand out as the primary catalyst behind the erosion phenomenon, attributing to an overwhelming 98% of the causal influence.Sand mining, polluting inorganic waste, and mining coral reefs can also cause beach erosion (Table 1).The lack of knowledge about the causes is because socialization activities and community capacity building related to coastal hazards in Langsa City are rarely carried out.This is evidenced by the questionnaire data, where most respondents obtain information on tidal flood hazards through television (Table 2).Only 13.7% obtained the information from government officials and Langsa City rarely conducts outreach activities in the area.
Other findings indicate that most respondents do not know the characteristics of tidal floods.Even though tidal flood was experienced regularly, the characteristics were not understood and community had good knowledge about tsunami signs related to hazards.This result corroborated previous studies conducted by Oktari et al. (2021), where community knowledge of fast-moving hazards proved to be better than knowledge of late-onset.Referring to the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) theory developed by Lindell & Perry (2018), knowledge plays a role in influencing community during the decision-making process.This study also found that most respondents received information on coastal hazards from television (96.1%), relatives, relatives, friends, and neighbors (70.6%).Information obtained from government officials is very lacking (13.7%) and small islands have not received attention in disaster hazards reduction.

Emergency Response Plan
The results show that most respondents are aware of coastal hazards in their area (62.7%).They have prepared clothes, cash, and emergency necessities (62.7%) and most respondents have also kept important documents of value (76.5%).
Community action to reduce the impact of coastal hazards, such as planting mangroves, is lacking.Only 9.8% of community reduced the impact of tidal flood hazards by planting mangroves.This is corroborated by the results of field observations, where the residential area built on Pusong Island is not planted with mangroves or other plants.Community on the island only build dams along the coastline, as shown in Figure 3.
Community should be able to reduce tidal flood hazards by planting mangroves or sea pine.Mangroves play an important role in reducing the risk of abrasion, seawater intrusion, and tidal flood.The plants have supporting roots that can withstand the brunt of the waves (Tanaka et al., 2007).For example, the results of Tanaka et al., (2007) at 19 areas on the southern coast of Sri Lanka and 29 areas on the Andaman coast of Thailand worked after the Indian Ocean tsunami on December 26, 2004.The Mangrove Pandanus and trees on the coast have proven to be very effective in protecting from tsunami damage due to their complex root structure.The horizontal vegetation structure of small and large-diameter trees has also increased tsunami wave resistance.In addition, tributaries in the mangrove forest are considered effective in slowing tsunami waves.
The low level of community action to reduce the impact of coastal hazards is thought to be due to socio-economic factors.This can be seen from the condition of the houses in the area using the main structure of wood and increasing community vulnerability to coastal hazards (Arif et al., 2017).
Respondents do not have good access to clean water and sanitation facilities and solid waste.Field observations also show that the area has limited drainage, clean water, and garbage disposal infrastructure.In small islands in Indonesia, infrastructure gaps are often found, and the cost of basic needs is high.This causes community to have an economic dependence on the mainland (Syamsidik et al., 2020).The island is not suitable because most of community settlements are submerged in seawater during high tides.

Early Warning System
The area has a flood early warning system developed by the Universitas Samudra.Early Flood Detection (EFDe) system is a flood hazard detection tool designed using the Internet of Things system with a data transmission speed of 10-15 seconds.EFDe system has an accuracy rate of up to 99.99% and the water level can be monitored in real-time using the website or Android.EFDe system is also equipped with a solar panel and control charger having an independent energy source from the sun which is stored in the battery.The tool does not function properly because Pusong Island does not have good internet and telecommunication network access.
Community do not apply traditional methods in dealing with these coastal hazards.This result corroborates a previous study, where small island areas have limited infrastructure for early warning system (Terry & Goff, 2012).Early warning system is an essential component in reducing tidal flood disasters.The absence of the system for flood hazards will increase the risk of the number of victims in a disaster.
The government needs a comprehensive effort to increase the capacity and preparedness of Pusong Island community.This is important for the government attention because the probability of tidal flood in coastal areas is expected to increase in the future.IPCC (2007) predicted that Indonesia sea level would rise 100 cm due to increased seawater temperature from 1.3 1C to 4.6 1C in 2100 (Harwitasari & Ast, 2011).
Most respondents living on Pusong Island adapt to tidal flood hazard autonomously (unmanaged without intervention from the government) (Aksa & Afrian, 2022).Socio-economic conditions strongly influence the adaptation strategy of community.Harwitasari & van Ast (2011) stated that community adaptation to hazards consisted of autonomous and planned adaptation.Autonomous adaptation is an action not managed without intervention from the government.Meanwhile, planned adaptation is a response strategy to climate change carried out in a planned manner (Harwitasari & Ast, 2011).Note: N = Number of respondents who replied "Yes" % = Percentage of respondents who replied "Yes" According to Table 4, community do not have traditional ways passed down from previous generations regarding adaptation to tidal flood hazards.In addition, community are also not aware of local agreements for tidal flood early warning.This is worrying because early warning of tidal flood hazards is important to reduce the impact of losses when a disaster event.

Resource Mobilization
Resource mobilization was measured based on actions taken by community, such as training programs to increase resource capacity and access.The results showed that community had not prepared insurance, land for housing, and other livelihoods to reduce the impact of sea-level rise and tidal flood.Items from these questions were still below 50% on average.
The inhabitants of these areas do not consider relocating for residential purposes because of their proximity.This is because residing in coastal areas offers advantages for livelihood and community dwell in the small island area since the land prices are exorbitant elsewhere.
Respondents were constrained in their engagement with workshops and socialization events focused on coastal hazards mitigation, as well as in activities such as first aid training, victim evacuation, and clean water treatment guidance.The mean score for the questionnaire items continues to register below the 30% threshold.The survey indicates that local community involvement in the formulation, execution, finalization, and oversight of coastal protection initiatives remains limited, as shown in Table 6.The governmental initiatives targeting the resolution of challenges related to the protection of coastal areas exhibited a deficiency in adopting a participatory, transparent, and effective approach.Furthermore, the average score for the relevant question items persists below 40%.
Community had implemented several measures to enhance their awareness in the event of a disaster.Some of these measures included having relatives or friends ready to assist (76.5%), preparing communication tools for emergencies (70.6%), and arranging transportation means for evacuation (80.4%).In addition, respondents had access to communication tools, transportation for evacuation, and health facilities.

Community Preparedness
The results of community preparedness index show that most of residents of Pusong Island are not ready to face coastal hazards.The item of this question indicates a score with a low category.Community preparedness index score is generated from the sum of all parameter scores divided by the number of parameters, as shown in Table 7.The results show that community preparedness index for tidal flood hazards is in a low category (38.34 out of 100).The knowledge parameter reports the medium category (51.34 %), emergency response plan (44.71%), resource mobilization (34.02 %), and early warning system (23.3%).The results of this preparedness are worrying, considering that Pusong Village is an area with a high tidal flood disaster hazards index.A systematic and planned effort is needed to improve community preparedness in facing tidal flood hazards.
The low level of preparedness in Pusong Island is because tidal flood hazards are ignored.This result reinforces a previous study conducted by Adelekan & Asiyanbi (2016) on coastal community on Bonny Island, where the impact of tidal floods is not considered.Marfai et al (2015) reported that individuals in flood hazard areas in Jakarta City often underestimate the challenges.Even though flood has become an annual disaster, community do not plan for evacuation areas or prepare food and medicine for emergencies.

CONCLUSION
In conclusion, community preparedness for coastal hazards was low at 38.34%.Respondents lacked awareness of the characteristics of tidal flood and the rising sea level, which contributed to the damage of infrastructure and the decline of pond productivity.Actions were not taken to reduce coastal hazards, such as planting mangroves.In addition, community did not apply traditional methods in dealing with these coastal hazards.The low level of community preparedness was very worrying because the frequency of tidal flood events was expected to increase during the mending period affected by global climate change and sea-level rise.Pusong Island residents were compelled to reside in a tidal flood hazard area due to the exorbitant price of land in urban areas.Future analyses should examine the relationship between hazards perceptions and disaster preparedness.Disaster hazards reduction in coastal areas also necessitated a comprehensive understanding of the psychological drivers of community in tidal hazard areas.

Figure
Figure 1.Study area

Table 1 .
The characteristics of respondents

Table 2 .
Community knowledge of coastal hazards

Table 3 .
Information related hazards

Table 4 .
Emergency response plan Figure 3. Embankments built by community along the coastline

Table 5 .
Early warning system

Table 7 .
Community Preparedness Index