How Far Disaster Management Implemented Toward Flood Preparedness: A Lesson Learn from Youth Participation Assessment in Indonesia

Abstract
Flood is a common and frequent natural disaster in many countries that causes huge economic losses and casualties every year. Youth participation in flood disaster management (FDM) has not been much explored, especially in the non-prone area but contributing to flooding resilience. Therefore, this study aims to identify youth participation in disaster management to help an improvement in preparedness action. The research was conducted using a qualitative model: case study research, involving 191 young people aged 14-35-years in 16 sub-districts in Semarang City. The data, including youth’s action, knowledge, and participation in FDM, was collected using Google Form, observation, and interview, then statistically analyzed using Mann-Whitney’s test and path analysis. The results show the respondents in flood-affected areas are more actively participating in flood disaster management action because of their experience in facing flooding. Also, the planning step is significantly influenced by the FDM implementation. The planning process is the main defining factor in disaster management successfulness and essentially affecting mitigation, rehabilitation, and evaluation steps. The level of youth participation is deemed necessary to be increased to develop a more comprehensive disaster management program according to regional needs. We suggest that FDM should be transformed into disaster awareness which is delivered through education, socialization, training, and/or flood disaster response simulations.