April 26 is Indonesia’s Disaster Preparedness Day (Hari Kesiupsyagaan Buncana Nasional).  Inspired by Japan’s Disaster Preparedness Day, the National Disaster Preparedness Agency (BNPB) enacted a presidential decree on preparedness measures to raise public awareness through training and education.

A commemorative ceremony has been held every year since 2017, and in 2025 it will be held in Mataram City, West Nusa Tenggara Province, one of A-PAD Indonesia’s project sites. Evacuation drills were also held in various other locations.

 

Lieutenant General Suhariyanto, Director General of the National Disaster Management Agency, and the Governor of West Nusa Tenggara Province took part in the ceremony. A variety of events were held to encourage people to think about how to respond in the event of a disaster, including a play by the Service Unit for Persons with Disabilities (ULD NTB) and an online broadcast of simultaneous training exercises conducted throughout Indonesia.

The drills included disaster simulation training at schools throughout Indonesia. Over 1.4 million participants from approximately 7,000 schools learned about evacuation and rescue methods. The number of participants in the disaster evacuation simulation reached a record high, and a certificate for the record-breaking achievement was presented to the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency by the Indonesian World Records Museum (MURI).

A-PAD staff also supported teachers and students at three elementary schools in West Lombok Regency during the school drills, helping them to evacuate safely and quickly.

The principal of Sandik Second Elementary School said, “I am relieved that we were able to complete the evacuation drill safely thanks to everyone at A-PAD Indonesia. The evacuation drill was a great learning experience not only for the students but for the entire school.”

 Khofifa Laoza, a student at Lembuak Third Primary School, said, “Through the various training sessions – taking shelter under desks, covering our heads as we headed to the assembly point, and serving as part of a medical team to rescue classmates who were left behind in classrooms, I felt like I was really in a situation where an earthquake had occurred.”

 Sumaidi, A-PAD Indonesia’s West Nusa Tenggara Province Coordinator who supported the evacuation drill, emphasized, “It is very important to learn the importance of disaster reduction from an early age. By training students, teachers, and the entire school community to work together and respond appropriately and quickly to emergencies, children should be able to protect themselves and help those around them.” Cooperation between schools, local communities, NPOs, and volunteer groups is essential to increasing resilience against disaster risks and such drills are important for deepening cooperative relationships.

As part of its efforts to build disaster-resilient communities, A-PAD Indonesia is considering adding various types of disaster simulation trainings according to the different risks in each region. A-PAD will continue to focus on training so that the cooperation cultivated in peacetime can be leveraged in the event of a disaster.