Knowledge and practice of earthquake management among apartment dwellers: A case study of Jakarta City, Indonesia

Abstract

Urban city apartments and flat dwellers face increasing threats from earthquakes, and the current understanding and implementation of earthquake risk reduction techniques in high-rise housing communities remain lacking. Therefore, this study examined the relationships between earthquake management practices and demographic characteristics, vertical housing features, earthquake management knowledge, and emergency response plans. The research employed a cross-sectional study design and included 215 participants from 14 selected apartments. The findings indicated that (1) earthquake management practices vary among individuals aged 35–54, types of dwelling units, dwelling sizes, numbers of rooms, those who have resided in an apartment for 3–5 years, emergency response plans, and knowledge regarding earthquake management (before, during, and after); (2) earthquake management knowledge levels (including mitigation and self-rescue knowledge during an earthquake) are low; (3) emergency response and earthquake management practices are insufficient; and (4) apartment dwellers with moderate knowledge levels of earthquake self-rescue are 12.2 times more likely to have moderate earthquake management practices than those without (OR = 12.2, p = 0.000). The study recommends that the National Disaster Management Authority and the Jakarta City Disaster Risk Reduction Forum collaborate with building managers to develop an annual earthquake mitigation programme to enhance knowledge levels regarding earthquake risk reduction.