Applying Indigenous Knowledge to Natural Disaster Preparedness

Many communities continue to be impacted by natural disasters regardless of geographical location, while relying on homogenous measures. This article aims at examining how to apply indigenous knowledge to natural disaster preparedness as part of disaster management. This article utilized qualitative content analysis as its key methodology. Various sources of indigenous knowledge such as anecdotes about animals behave before a disaster, plant conditions that may be indicative of an impending disaster, interpretation of certain constellations, and others were analyzed as to whether they can be considered sustainable measures in aid of disaster awareness, disaster operational planning, scientific research, and training and exercise. The key finding or recommendation is that it is necessary for the field of natural disaster preparedness to change its indigenous knowledge into sustainable measures.