What we can learn from 2018 liquefaction in Central Sulawesi: Stories from the survivors

This paper provides the stories of the liquefaction survivors about their experiences during and after the disaster. It is a phenomenological study that used the semi-structured interview to obtain the data. The data were acquired from 30 participants. There are some important points that can be summarised from the stories of the survivors. During the disaster, local people inclined to underestimate the quake at the beginning of the shaking. It could indicate the level of their risk perception and awareness on disaster. In addition, a unique finding from this study was that the survivors had conducted the initial intervention priority as basic resources for survival such as shelter and information of the victims’ identity. Also, regarding the post-disaster data, the results indicated that the survivors experienced the symptoms of trauma due to the disaster. It indicates that the psychological aspect of the survivors was neglected during the recovery process. On that regard, long-term traumatic recovery activities should be put into accounted during the recovery processes for all the victims of a disaster regardless of their ages and genders. Another implication of this study is the opportunity to use these stories into learning activities, both in learning about science or disaster mitigation.