Community preparedness toward flood during Covid-19 pandemic at Pekalongan City and Regency

Abstract

Several countries experience difficulties in overcoming the effects of natural disasters amid the Covid-19 pandemic, such as Typhoon Hagibis in Japan, floods due to melting snow in Canada, Typhoons in Bangladesh, and Cyclone Harold in Pacific countries. Natural disasters that affected the world during infectious diseases did not only occur in 2020. Earthquakes struck Haiti during the 2010 Cholera epidemic outbreak and respiratory infections during the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in 2011. Something similar happens in Indonesia, one of which is flood and tidal flood in Pekalongan that occur during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study reviews the efforts of countries in overcoming natural disasters during the pandemic. It aims to propose an approach for flood disasters preparedness in Pekalongan so that disaster preparedness process including victim evacuation, can be done without increasing the spread of Covid-19. Information about humanity, disaster management, health, water and sanitation that are disseminated to the public must be supported by scientific knowledge to avoid the spread of myths and negative stigma. Coordination between stakeholders and the local community plays the most important role in flood disaster preparedness with the Covid-19 protocol during the pandemic.