The capacity of Affected Communities to Manage Disasters in the Eruption of Mount Semeru

T: The country of Indonesia is included in the Pacific Ring of Fire (pacific volcanic area) which is curved from the north of Sumatra-Java Islanda, Nusa Tenggara to North Sulawesi. There are three philosophies in disaster management; First, keep the community away from the threat of disaster (hazard); secondly, keep disaster away from the society; The third is living in harmony and friendly with disasters by developing local wisdom. This study aimed to see the extent of the community's capacity in disaster management and minimize the impact of the eruption on the surrounding community. This study used a qualitative approach with a descriptive method. Qualitative methods rely on text and visual data. The data collection techniques are carried out through observation, interviews, literature studies, and focus group discussions (FGD). It is clear that the capacity of the community to be involved in pre-disaster, during the disaster, and post-disaster. The suddenness faced by the community at the time of the eruption was due to the lack of functioning of the EWS plus the absence of signs of the Semeru eruption so there were many casualties and the loss of property was quite extraordinary. With this capacity increase, we hope that it will reduce the loss of life and property in the community and also requires cooperation between related institutions in disaster management.