2024 Volume 48 Issue 1 Pages 24-32
Almost 20 years have passed since the M9.1 earthquake occurred on the plate boundary off Sumatra, Indonesia 2004. In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey of 92 Indonesian educational trainees (around 2 years old and under 10 years old in 2004) on their memories of the earthquake disaster that occurred in their country 20 years ago and on their awareness of earthquakes. The questionnaire showed that 50% (n=43/84) of the students answered that they “never remember” or “do not remember much” the M9.1 Sumatra earthquake, and 49% (n=43/88) of the students answered that they had never seen a video of the earthquake. When asked if they could explain the mechanism of the earthquake, 42% (n=37/88) answered “No” or “Difficult”. These results indicate that in the case of Indonesia, the students have little memory or awareness of the Sumatra earthquake, 20 years later. On the other hand, Japan is also one of the most earthquake-prone countries and experienced a M9.0 earthquake off the coast of Tohoku 12 years ago. Hence, this research emphasizes the importance of continuous education on earthquakes, disaster prevention, and mitigation to ensure that the Great East Japan Earthquake is not forgotten.
