Between science, religion, and politics: multi-layered communication responses to maritime disaster in Indonesia

Abstract This article aims to analyze multi-layered communication responses to maritime disasters in Indonesia using two significant cases, namely the tidal flooding in Semarang and the tsunami in Banda Aceh. Reducing the risk of disaster is not only a technical matter but also strongly associated with communication issues. Therefore, there has been much research into disaster communication. However, research on multi-layered communication responses to diverse disasters must still be done. Data were collected through interviews with the people, journalists, and government officials in Semarang and Banda Aceh. These data were complemented by field observations and reviews of local media news and government policies. The results show that communication response in the two regions involved a complex triangle of science, religion, and politics. This means that the community, media, and government of these regions communicated these two types of disasters as involving science, religion, and politics to varying degrees. This article also finds that the local media was unable to optimally play its central role as an intermediary actor in disaster communication in the two regions.