Communicating Tsunami Preparedness: Digital Media, Women’s Agency, and Unesco Recognition in Sidaurip Village
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26740/jsm.v10n2.p480-495Keywords:
women's agency, digital adaptation, resilience, disaster risk reduction, tsunami preparednessAbstract
This study was conducted in Sidaurip village, Central Java, Indonesia, which earned the UNESCO Tsunami Ready Recognition in 2024. Positioned at the intersection of cultural studies and disaster communication, this research examines the complex nexus among digital adaptability, female agency, and Disaster Risk Reduction. While coastal women disproportionately bear the brunt of disaster shocks, they also serve as the backbone of community cohesion. To explore these dynamics, qualitative fieldwork gathered empirical insights through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions (n=24), and observations. Findings reveal that informal leadership and cross-generational learning unfold through cultural norms and emergent digital practices, including participatory mapping and messaging threads. Communicative localization transcends top-down bureaucratic compliance, establishing a robust hybrid early-warning system that combines traditional acoustic instruments (*kentongan*) with digital platforms (InfoBMKG, SIRITA, and WhatsApp). Furthermore, the UNESCO process provided women with a formalized entry point into the public sphere. Acting as trusted mediators, women ground state alerts using grassroots forums like PKK and Posyandu. Ultimately, this study demonstrates that long-term coastal safety cannot rely on technology alone, but must embed global disaster frameworks within existing cultural rhythms and women-led everyday networks
References
Alazzawie, A. 2022. "Code-Switching as a Communicative Strategy in Intercultural Digital Interaction." Journal of Intercultural Communication Research 51(3):215–32.
Akhlakulkarimah, Dinda, and Ari J. Adipurwawidjana. 2025. "Disabled, Designed, Displayed: Commodification of Disability in Advertisements by Tommy Hilfiger, Gucci, and Smarteyes Denmark." The Journal of Society and Media 9(2):364–87. doi: 10.26740/jsm.v9n2.p364-387.
Atanacio, Sharmaine, and Cristia Shiena S. Amparo. 2024. "Media as Propaganda for Law Enforcement and Justice in the Philippines." The Journal of Society and Media 8(2):327–72.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1986. "The Forms of Capital." Pp. 241–58 in Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, edited by J. Richardson. New York: Greenwood Press.
Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. 2006. "Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology." Qualitative Research in Psychology 3(2):77–101.
Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. 2019. "Reflecting on Reflexive Thematic Analysis."
Qualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health 11(4):589–97.
Couldry, Nick. 2012. Media, Society, World: Social Theory and Digital Media Practice.
Cambridge: Polity Press.
Enarson, Elaine. 2012. Women Confronting Natural Disasters: From Vulnerability to Resilience.
Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Fakhruddin, I., I. S. Mirahayu, H. Rani, and S. F. Mauldina. 2025. "Episentrum Kesiapsiagaan: Peran Physical Resilience Hub dan Social Media Komunitas dalam Komunikasi Risiko Bencana Tsunami di Desa Panggarangan, Indonesia." Jurnal Netnografi Komunikasi 4(2):134–53.
Fitriananta, Erika Zahra, Moch Iqbal Nasrulloh Al Amin, Benedikta Ngamul, Putri Nadiatus Shofiyah, and Artanti Indrasetianingsih. 2025. "Gen Z's Perception of the Application of the Presidential Election Result Recapitulation Information System in Surabaya." The Journal of Society and Media 9(2):479–503.
Fordham, Maureen. 2020. "Gender, Intersectionality and Disaster in the United States." Pp. 185–200 in Handbook of Disaster Risk Reduction & Management, edited by J. Phillips, D. Fordham, and M. Wisner. London: Routledge.
Gaillard, J. C. 2010. "Vulnerability, Capacity and Resilience: Perspectives for Climate and Development Policy." Journal of International Development 22(2):218–32.
Gaillard, J. C., and Jessica Mercer. 2013. "From Knowledge to Action: Bridging Gaps in Disaster Risk Reduction." Progress in Human Geography 37(1):93–114. doi: 10.1177/0309132512446717.
Hall, Stuart. 1997. Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: Sage Publications.
Hine, Christine. 2015. Ethnography for the Internet: Embedded, Embodied and Everyday. London: Bloomsbury Academic.
Houston, J. Brian, Joshua Hawthorne, Megan F. Perreault, Eun Hwa Park, Miriam Goldstein Hode, Mandy R. Halliwell, Laura Anne Spialek, Megan McGowen, and Sterling A. Griffith. 2015. "Social Media and Disasters: A Functional Framework for Social Media Use in Disaster Planning, Response, and Research." Disasters 39(1):1–22. doi: 10.1111/disa.12092.
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. 2022. Standard Guidelines for the Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme. Paris: UNESCO.
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission-UNESCO. 2024. Field Verification Assessment and Recommendation: Community Capacity of the 12 UNESCO-IOC Tsunami Ready Indicators (Sidaurip Village). Indian Ocean Tsunami Information Centre.
Nurhayati, K., et al. 2026. "Women's Agency in Disaster Risk Reduction: A Cultural Studies Perspective on the UNESCO Tsunami Ready Recognition in Sidaurip Village, Indonesia." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 1641:012052. doi: 10.1088/1755-1315/1641/1/012052.
Priyonggo, Agung, and Hasmah Mohd Adnan. 2021. "Digitizing Newspaper Contents in Indonesia: The Challenge of Enforcing Culture of Immediacy." Malaysian Journal of Communication 37(2):14–40.
Rahman, Md. Saidur, and J. C. Gaillard. 2021. "Everyday Life and Disaster Resilience in Rural Communities." Disaster Prevention and Management 30(2):152–66. doi: 10.1108/DPM-10-2019-0315.
Rahman, Md. Saidur, A. K. M. Ahsan Ullah, and Rajib Singh. 2022. "Gendered Dimensions of Disaster Resilience in South Asia: Women’s Empowerment and Digital Inclusion." International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 67:102672. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102672.
Robertson, Roland. 1995. "Glocalization: Time-Space and Homogeneity-Heterogeneity." Pp. 25–44 in Global Modernities, edited by M. Featherstone, S. Lash, and R. Robertson. London: Sage Publications.
Syafuddin, K., N. R. Irmayani, H. Habibullah, H. H. Setiawan, B. Susantyo, S. Sumarno, R. Murni,
D. Purwasantana, M. Ganti, J. Arifin, R. A. Aldyan, G. K. Nathanael, A. Hapsery, and T. K. Yuda. 2026. "Adaptive Social Protection and Risk Communication Strategies for Addressing Disaster and Climate Vulnerability in Rural Indonesia." Discover Sustainability 7(1):1–18.
Twigg, John. 2007. Characteristics of a Disaster-Resilient Community: A Guidance Note (Version 1). London: DFID Disaster Risk Reduction Interagency Coordination Group.
Velev, Dimitar, and Pari Zlateva. 2012. "Use of Social Media in Natural Disaster Management."
International Proceedings of Economics Development and Research 39(1):41–45.
Wisner, Ben, Piers Blaikie, Terry Cannon, and Ian Davis. 2004. At Risk: Natural Hazards, People's Vulnerability and Disasters. 2nd ed. London: Routledge.
Wisner, Ben, J. C. Gaillard, and Ilan Kelman (Eds.). 2014. Handbook of Hazards and Disaster Risk Reduction. London: Routledge.
Yin, Robert K. 2017. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods. 6th ed.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 The Journal of Society and Media
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract views: 0
,
PDF Downloads: 0
