Identifying Aid Items of Survival Kit for Natural Disasters
Bertha Maya Sopha, Anna Maria Sri Asih
Industrial Engineering Program, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM)
Abstract
Incompatible aid supplies, in which received aid items do not match with the need of the victims, appears to be one of persistent problems in relief operations. The mismatch can be argued due to that the need of aid supplies may vary over time and the nature of disaster creates different need of aid items which are not available in standard survival kit. The purpose of the present paper is therefore to empirically identify aid items that should be available in survival kits by considering time-after-disaster and the nature of disaster. A survey was conducted in Bantul and Sleman districts where earthquake with a magnitude of 6.5 Richter scale and volcanoes eruption have occurred respectively. A total of 120 respondents, consisting 65 respondents from Bantul district and 55 respondents from Sleman (Cangkringan), participated in the study. The respondents were asked to rate the urgency level of the aid items during the first and the second week after disaster. Results indicate the time after disaster, the nature of disaster, and the culture are found to be significant factors influencing the required items of the survival kit. Furthermore, the required aid items during the first week are significantly different than those during the second week after disaster. It is also worth mentioning that the type of disaster determines crucial specific aid items that should be provided in the survival kit.
Keywords: survival kit, aid items, earthquake, volcano eruption, survey
Topic: Industrial Engineering