Community Preparedness in Dealing with Landslides
Mamat Ruhimat
Department of Geography Education Faculty of Social Science Education, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia
Keywords: Community Preparedness, Landslides.
Abstract: Landslides are one of natural disaster that difficult to be predicted accurately. Communities that living in a
landslide-prone area has to have preparedness to deal with it. This research was conducted in Sagalaherang
subdistrict, Subang district, West Java. Sagalaherang subdistrict physically located in a landslide-prone area.
This research aims to determine preparedness level of community to deal with landslides using index of
preparedness level analysis from UNESCO. Primary data were obtained through field observation and
questionnaires and interviews with the people. Secondary data were obtained from a review of various
relevant document and literature. Community sample were determined with proportional random sampling.
Sagalaherang is one of subdistrict in Subang district that categorized as prone to landslides in the medium to
high level, has average rainfall above 2.700 mm/year. Geological condition of Sagalaherang was volcanic
material that resulted from volcanic eruption of Tangkuban Parahu with breksi rock types. The morphology
were hilly, slope class were dominated with class II – V. Level of community preparedness in dealing with
landslides in Sagalaherang subdistrict is categorized as nearly prepared. Communities has knowledge’s, and
a number of steps that has to be done if landslides occurred. It was still lack in resources mobilization of
disaster management. It recommended to increase knowledge’s of community and conducting trainings of
resources mobilization to deal with landslides, until communities get into well prepared categorize.
1 INTRODUCTION
A total of 18 districts and cities in West Java province
were included to the list of area that has land
movement potential. The potential for soil movement
varies from low to medium to high. Majority of
landslide disasters that occurred in areas with
potential of land movement in moderate to high. From
2010 to 2013 the number of landslide victims in West
Java has been reached 180 people (Directorate of
Volcanology and Disaster Mitigation, 2013).
Frequency of landslides in West Java has a higher
potential because it lies in the volcanic region and has
a wavy morphology. Landslides depend on many
aspects, such as land use, slope, and geological
factors, even the behavior of the population in using
land.
Sagalaherang subdistrict that located in Subang
district in area of West Java are located in hilly area,
that was an area that has potential to landslides that
caused by its morphology which was hilly area, or the
volcanic activities of Tangkuban Parahu.
Sagalaherang subdistrict in Subang district was one
of area that has medium to high of land movement
level. Landslides occurred in Sagalaherang
subdistrict has struck Tenggeragung, Sagalaherang
village, the incident causing death of one person.
After that, landslides occurred in Cileungsing,
Sagalaherang Kaler village, in February 2010 resulted
in two houses owned by residents crashed carried
away by landslides, and dozens other houses are
under threat of landslides, it also occurred in
Cikubang, Sagalaherang Kaler village in December
2010, the community has been startled by landslides
that fall on one house and one elementary school,
meanwhile for landslides that occurred in the late of
December 2012, in Panaruban, Cicadas village that
causing death of one person and other seven people
were injured (news.okezone, 21 April 2007).
Landslide vulnerabilities in Sagalaherang subdistrict
was still lack of attention, so there is not any real
mitigation efforts to decrease the risks of the danger
of landslides. Community that lives in area that has
landslide potential plays an important role, even very
decisive. People activities in using their land could be
a triggering or inhibiting factor of landslides. The
570
Ruhimat, M.
Community Preparedness in Dealing with Landslides.
In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education (ICSE 2017) - Volume 1, pages 570-574
ISBN: 978-989-758-316-2
Copyright © 2018 by SCITEPRESS – Science and Technology Publications, Lda. All rights reserved

preparedness of community needs to be measured, so
that when landslide occurs, it won’t make any shock
and the victims could be minimalized. Preparedness
are the actions that allows government, organizations,
peoples, communities, and individual to be able in
dealing with disaster situation quickly and
appropriately (Carter, 1991). Preparedness has some
parameters that can be measured which is: knowledge
and attitude, emergency planning, warning system,
and resource mobilization capacity (LIPI, UNESCO,
2006). This means that the higher index number, the
level of subject preparedness that has been studied are
also higher. Level of community preparedness are
categorized into five, namely: very prepared with
index value 80 – 100, prepared with index value 65 –
79, nearly prepared with index value 55 – 64, less
prepared with index value 40 – 54, not prepared yet
with index value less of 40 (LIPI-UNESCO, 2006).
2 LANDSLIDES
Landslides are a movement of slope forming material
in the form of rocks, debris material, soil, or mixture
materials, move down or off the slopes. Landslides
was a form of erosion that indicated by transportation
or movement of soil mass which occurs at some point
in a relatively large volume. Landslides are the
movement of soil/rocks mass with tilted direction
from original position, so it was being apart from
solid mass, because of gravity with rotation and
translation movement types. The slides it can be
divided into six types, namely: translation slides,
rotation slides, block movement, stone ruins, soil
creep, and debris material flow. Translation and
rotation slides are the most common in Indonesia.
Landslide types that took a lot of victims of
property, objects, and human life is debris material
flow, because it can go through far enough which is
hundred or even thousand meters, especially in
watershed area around volcanoes. This landslide
speed were influenced by slopes, water volume and
pressure, and the material types. Factors that
influence to the occurrence of landslides and erosion
are nature and human factors. The main nature factor
are climate, soil characteristics, main material,
elevation, and slopes, even tsunami, human factor is
all of human activity that accelerate the occurrence of
erosion and landslides (Elliason, 2013). Rainfall is
one of climate element which has the big role to
landslide occurrence. Rainwaters that infiltrated into
soil and saturated the soil determines landslides. Rain
intensity determines the level of erosion, meanwhile
landslides were determined by soil saturated
condition by rainwaters and the collapse of slide
friction. Annual rain fall >2.000 mm/year occurs in
most parts of Indonesia. Soil types was also a factor
that influencing landslide occurrence. Every soil
types has different level of sensitivity to landslides.
The depth or solum, texture, and soil structure
determines the quantity of surface runoff water and
saturation rate of the soil by water. On soil with deep
solum (>90cm), loose structure and dense land cover,
most of the rain water were infiltrated into the ground
and only a small part that being the surface runoff
water. Conversely, in soil with shallow solum, solid
structure, and less density of land cover, only small
percentage of rain water that infiltrated and most of
them are being the surface runoff water.
Characteristics of soil parent material is
determined by the source of rock and composition of
mineralogy that affects the landslide sensitivity. In a
mountainous area, soil material is dominated with
strong rocks from volcanic rocks, sedimentary, and
metamorphic rocks. Soils that formed by sedimentary
rocks, especially clay, calcareous limestone or marl
and limestone, are relatively sensitive to landslides.
Volcanic rocks generally are landslides resistant. One
of characteristics of landslide-sensitive soil is the
width of soil fracture is >2 cm and the depth is >50
cm in dry season. The soil could expand in wet
condition and shrink in dry condition, which was
caused by the high content of clay mineral type 2:1 as
seen on Grumusol soil. At certain depths of Podsolic
or Mediteranic soil there is a clay accumulation which
in saturated water condition can also function as a
glide field in landslide occurrence. Landslides are
common in hilly and mountainous areas, especially in
sandy soils (Regosol or Psamment), Andosol
(Andisols), shallow rocky soil (Litosol or Entisols),
and calcareous shallow soil (Renzina or Mollisols), in
wavy regions especially on Podsolic soil (Ultisols),
Mediterranean (Alfisols), and Grumusol (Vertisols)
that formed from the main rocks of clay stone, marl
and limestone with a high clay content. The altitude
of land based on height were divided into medium
plains (350 – 700 m above sea level) and high plains
(>700 m above sea level). Elevation is closely related
with the types of commodity that suitable to
preserving the environment. National Land Agency
set the land on elevation above 1.000 m above sea
level and slopes >45% as a restricted business area
and prioritized as protected forest areas. While
Ministry of Forestry set the land with the elevation
above >2.000 m above sea level and/or slopes >40%
as protected areas. Grade or land slopes is one of
trigger factor of landslides. When slope are steeper,
the volume and speed of runoff would be increased
Community Preparedness in Dealing with Landslides
571

and has potential to causing landslides. Beside
steepness, the length of slope also determine the
magnitude of landslides, the longer the slope, the
greater landslide would be. Slope class consists of flat
(0 – 3 %), ramps or choppy 3 – 8 %, slightly slanted
or wavy 8 – 15 %, slanted or hilly 15 – 30 %, slightly
steep 30 – 45 %, steep 45 – 65 % and very steep above
65 % (Arsyad, 1989). Human factor, are the action of
human that causing or makes the landslides
occurrence going faster. The action that causing
landslides are deforestation which decreasing
groundwater infiltration so it will increase runoff.
Surface flow or runoff should not be high, because it
will affect the erosion, and in the end it also will affect
to the landslide occurrence. In the less regions of
Europa, Asia and America for example, gully erosion
might be the most important geomorphic natural
hazard (Inolonita, Michael A. Fullen, 2015).
Improper conservation technique in farming land will
trigger landslides. The causes of landslide including
active and passive factors (Cook and Doornkamp,
1994). Passive factor controls the landslide
occurrence, meanwhile the active factor was the
trigger of landslides. Therefore, to every habitant
should be given knowledge’s and planting the
attitudes so that the interaction with environment will
not causing the acceleration of landslide occurrence.
3 METHOD
Research method that used was descriptive. This
research uses survey techniques. Community that
became sample of research are the heads of
household. The number of samples was 80 people.
Sampling technique uses proportional random
sampling. The tools of research was interview
guidelines. Parameters that used to observe household
preparedness level in dealing with landslides are: (1)
knowledge of disaster, (2) emergency response plan,
(3) disaster warning, and (4) resources mobilization.
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In measuring the preparedness to deal with disaster,
there was three main groups that should be
considered, they are community/households,
apparatus group or bureaucracy and education units
(UNESCO, 2006). One of the stakeholders in
preparedness level to deal with landslides of
Sagalaherang subdistrict is the households or
community. Households is a stakeholder that holds
big role in addition to increase the community
preparedness, because it was an initial foundation in
social life. These are the level of household
preparedness in dealing with landslides in
Sagalaherang subdistrict based on the above 4
parameters as follows.
4.1 Knowledge of Disaster
In studying the knowledge of respondent about
landslides used some indicators that lowered in some
questions related to the causes of disaster occurrence,
types of disaster, signs of landslide occurrence and
signs of building that resistant to landslides, the
actions that should be done when landslide occurs and
knowledge of landslide information sources.
Knowledge of household respondents about the
understanding of disaster was one of important thing
that determine for a process to determining index of
community preparedness in dealing with disaster.
Knowledge of community/households about disaster,
were revealed through some indicators, namely the
causes of disaster, types of natural disaster, signs of
landslide, signs or characteristics of building to
anticipate landslides, and information sources to get
the knowledge of landslides.
The average of this research results showed
score of 97%. This means level of knowledge about
disaster of household respondents can be categorized
as prepared. This results exactly is a good news to the
households in Sagalaherang subdistrict, because most
of them has a high preparedness in dealing with
landslides. Knowledge of disaster that the household
respondents already have was obtained from various
information sources, one of them is television.
Reports about any occurrences or landslides that
occurs in various region in Indonesia on the TV,
adding the insight and knowledge for the household
respondents. Besides television, the household
respondents also get the information from radio. But
it still needs some more effort to make the community
getting more knowledge about disaster, one of them
is with adding information about disaster such as
founding an information source that can be accessed
by population especially related with disaster,
especially landslides.
4.2 Emergency Response Plan
The next parameter that used to determine the level of
household preparedness in Sagalaherang subdistrict
is Emergency Response Plan. In answering the
questions of emergency response plan by household
respondents, components that has been questioned to
the household respondents are a number of actions
that should be done in dealing with landslides,
ICSE 2017 - 2nd International Conference on Sociology Education
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prepare the medicines, and a place to rescue
themselves or understanding evacuation maps when
the landslide occurs. Respondent answers were
summed up, then search the average. Results of this
research showed that its average was 62%. This
means preparedness of household respondents in
emergency response plan is categorized as nearly
prepared. The results of this research on the
emergency response plan are very different from the
ownership of disaster knowledge. Knowledge of
household respondents is not directly proportional
with the emergency response plan. It can be seen from
the description of the emergency response plan which
is owned by the household respondents, like a plan of
action to do when the landslide occurred that is go to
the open field to evacuate themselves to a safe place.
In the future, specifically for the preparedness of the
emergency response plan of the household
respondent component should receive a very serious
attention, which need for increased preparedness by
various acts, such as simulation and/or training.
4.3 System of Disaster Warning
Indicator that used to determine the understanding of
community in disaster warning are knowledge of
disaster warning system traditionally or based on
technology and the action that should be done when
hearing the warning of disaster, also an information
source that obtained by community. The average of
household respondent answers about landslide
warning system was 53%. This means that household
is categorized as less prepared. The highest score was
in indicator of stay away from hills/cliffs and/or run
to the open place, and the lowest score was in can not
coordinate yet and/or utilizing the information
through communication media of radio and
television. That means the types of warning that has
been used by household respondent still using such
simple methods. Based on that tendency, in the future
it seems need to do a socialization of utilizing various
communication media effectively. Area that has
landslide potential, should be mitigate to minimizing
the effects. Landslide mitigation can be done in two
main aspects that is physical condition of nature and
vegetation, then mitigation for humankind in social
(Nursa’ban, 2010).
4.4 Resources Mobilization
Human resources mobilization in families is a part of
preparedness act in dealing with disaster and plays a
big role to prepare household members to do right act
in dealing with possibility of disaster occurrence.
Resources mobilization indicator is the participation
respondents to the meeting/seminar/training, and
vigilance in dealing with disaster. Research results
showed that the average score of respondent
preparedness in dealing with disaster that seen from
the aspect of resources mobilization was 63%. Score
63% is categorized as nearly prepared. Types of
training that has been participated related with
handling disaster is the first aid of accident which was
75%. While the lowest score is on the life/property
insurances which was 30%. This means that from
insurance side, only small percentage of respondents
that has been prepared. Life insurance and saving
should be socialized to the respondents, as an
important part in facing the possibility of disaster
occurrence.
5 CONCLUSIONS
Four parameters of household or community
preparedness in dealing with disaster is knowledge of
disaster, emergency response plan, system of disaster
warning, and resources mobilization. The averages of
research results showed these tendency: Knowledge
of disaster on household stakeholders is in prepared
categorize. Emergency response plan is in nearly
prepared categorize. System of disaster warning is in
less prepared categorize, and for resources
mobilization is in nearly prepared categorize. This
research is only measuring the preparedness from
household component. In the future at similar
research, it recommended to studying the component
of bureaucracy and education units preparedness.
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Arsyad., 1989. Konservasi Tanah dan Air. Bogor: Institut
Pertanian Bogor Press.
Carter, N., 1991. Disaster Management: a disaster
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Cook, R.U., Doornkamp, J.C., 1994. Geomorphology in
Environmental Management-and New Introduction.
Amsterdam: Elsevier.
Direktorat Vulkanologi dan Mitigasi Bencana, 2013
Elliason Jonas, Sigbjornsson Ragnar, 2013. Assessing the
Risk of Landslide-Generated Tsunamis, Using
Translatory, Wave Theory, International Journal of
Earthquake Engineering and Hazard Mitigation, 1 (1).
Ionlonita, Michael A. Fullen, 2015. Gully Erosion as a
natural and human-induced Hazard. The Journal of the
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LIPI – UNESCO. 2006. Pengembangan Framework untuk
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