Terminologies and Jargons of Disaster Management for Indonesia Context

Government of Indonesia has taken initiative to issue Law no. 24 of 2007 concerning Disaster Managements. It composes of certain terminologies in disaster management and how government structure at provincial and district level should work prior to, during, and after emergency of disasters. For those who are new to disaster management structure in Indonesia, this law will give information background of further policies and regulations in national and provincial levels. It will eventually serve as one of underlying basis, among others, for district and local government at grass root levels to start considering and allocating budget for disaster mitigation and risk reduction in their respective areas. Unofficial translation of the Law no. 24 of 2007 is available by clicking here. On the other hand, the original law in Bahasa is also available here.

Various terminologies and jargons in disaster management, specifically for Indonesia context, are defined here:
1. Disaster is event or series of events that threatens and disrupts lives and livelihoods caused either by natural and/or non-natural and man-made factors to claim toll, environmental damage, loss of assets, and pyschological impact.
2. Natural disaster is disaster set off by natural event or series of events and includes earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, droughts, hurricanes, and landslides.
3. Non-natural disaster is disater set off by non-natural event or series of events and includes technological disasters, modernization disasters, epidemics, and outbreaks.
4. Social disaster is disaster set off by man-made event or series of events and includes social conflict among groups or among communities, and terrorization.
5. Organization of disaster management is series of efforts comprising disaster sensitive development policy making, disaster prevention activities, emergency response, and rehabilition.
6. Disaster prevention activity is series of activities implemented in an effort to eliminate and/or reduce hazards.
7. Preparadness is series of activities implemented to anticipate disaster through organizational arrangement and through efficient and effective steps.
8. Early warning is series of activities warning the public at a most immediate stage on possibility of disaster at specific location by authorized agency.
9. Mitigation is series of efforts to reduce disaster risks through both built development and awareness rising on, and capacity building for, addressing hazard.
10. Emergency response is series of activities implemented immediately upon occurance of disaster to address resulting negative impacts, which comprises rescue and evacuation of victims assets delivery of basic needs, protection, IDP management, rescue, and recovery of facilities and infrastructure.
11. Rehabilitation is repairing and recovering all public or community services upto a degree that suffices geographical post-disaster area with the main goal being to normalize or bring to normality all governance and community life aspects in geographical post-disaster area.
12. Reconstruction is rebuilding all infrastructure and facilities, institutions in geographical post-disaster area, at both government and community level with the main goal being to initiate and grow economic, social and cultural activities, uphold law and order, and promote public participation in all aspects of community life in geographical post-disaster area.
13. Hazard is occurence or event that may lead to disaster.
14. Disaster vulnerability is geological, biological, hydrological, climatic, geographical, social, cultural, political, economic, and technological condition or characteristic in a a geographical area for a given period of time that reduces capacity for preventing, mitigating, achieving preparedness, and that reduces capacity for addressing negative impact of specific danger.
15. Recovery is series of activities to recovery condition of disaster impacted community and living environment by re-functioning institutions, infrastructure, and facilities through rehabilitation effort.
16. Disaster prevention is series of activities implemented to reduce or eliminate disaster risk through both reduction of hazard and reduction of disaster vulnerable parties.
17. Disaster risk is potential loss arising out of disaster within a specific geographical area for a specific period of time that may comprise death, injury, illness, life-threatening circumstances, loss of sense of security, displacement, damage or loss of assets, and disrupted social activities.
18. Emergency relief is effort to provide assistance to meet basic needs during emergency.
19. State of disaster emergency is state proclaimed by Government for a specific period of time on recommendation of agency assigned to manage disaster.
20. Internally displaced person(s) is individual or group of individuals whom voluntarily or otherwise have to relocate from their place of origin for an unspecified period of time as result of negative impact of disaster.
21. Every person is individual, group of individuals, and/or legal entity.
22. Disaster victim(s) is individual or group of individuals that suffer or died because of disaster.
23. National government, hereinafter government, is President of the Republic of Indonesia exercising power of government over the Republic of Indonesia as described in 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia.
24. Regional government is governor, district head/mayor, or regional instrument as regional government administrator element.
25. Business organization is every legal entity that may comprise state owned enterprise, regional state owned enterprise, regional state owned enterprise, cooperative, or private enterprise established in accordance with provisions of regulations of law that performs fixed and continual field of business that works and is domiciled in territory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia.
26. International agency is organization within organizational structure of the United Nations or that performs duty representing the United Nations or other international agency and foreign non-governmental agencies from other countries outside the United Nations.