Aceh has extensive experience dealing with disasters. The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami remains one of the most important lessons in Indonesia’s disaster management history. Yet changing environmental conditions and increasingly complex disaster risks require governments to continuously evaluate how they make decisions when communities face emergencies.
In their article, “Praxiological Ethics and Sense of Crisis in Risk Transformation in Handling Natural Disasters in Aceh 2025,” Firmansyah and his colleagues focus on an aspect that is often overshadowed by technical discussions: how moral values and a sense of urgency can be translated into concrete action during a crisis.
Disaster Management Requires More Than Procedures
Aceh is geographically vulnerable to multiple types of disasters. Its location at the western tip of Sumatra, combined with diverse terrain and exposure to extreme weather, creates significant risks of flooding and landslides in several areas.
The study discusses hydrometeorological disasters reported in November 2025, including floods and landslides affecting areas such as North Aceh, Pidie Jaya, Bireuen, Aceh Tamiang, East Aceh, Lhokseumawe, Central Aceh, and Bener Meriah.
In such situations, formal disaster management procedures are essential. However, Firmansyah and his colleagues argue that procedures alone do not guarantee effective action if decision-makers are unable to adapt their responses to conditions on the ground.
This is where praxeological ethics becomes relevant. Praxeology is broadly concerned with how actions can be organized and carried out effectively. In this study, however, effectiveness is inseparable from moral responsibility. Fast decisions must also consider fairness, public safety, transparency, and the welfare of affected communities.
A Sense of Crisis Is Not the Same as Panic
The second major concept examined by the researchers is the sense of crisis, or awareness of the seriousness and urgency of a threat.
A genuine sense of crisis should not be confused with panic. Government officials with a strong sense of crisis do not necessarily act recklessly. Instead, they recognize the severity of a threat and respond through rapid, coordinated, and deliberate decision-making.
In disaster management, this awareness can encourage authorities to act before casualties and major damage occur. Flood and landslide risks, for example, should trigger stronger mitigation measures, early-warning systems, evacuation exercises, and inter-agency coordination before an emergency escalates.
According to Firmansyah, Aruni, Salam, and Andriansyah, combining practical ethics with a strong sense of crisis can help shift disaster management from a reactive model toward a more proactive approach.
From Evacuation to Aid Distribution
The practical value of ethical decision-making becomes particularly visible in emergency operations.
During floods, for example, vulnerable groups should receive priority during evacuation. Emergency assistance should be distributed fairly and without discrimination. Information about disaster conditions and the use of public resources should also be communicated transparently.
In mountainous areas vulnerable to landslides, such as Central Aceh and Bener Meriah, ethical considerations are equally important during relocation, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. Decisions should not be based solely on technical requirements but should also consider community rights, environmental sustainability, and local social conditions.
Therefore, the success of disaster management should not be measured only by how quickly assistance arrives. It should also be assessed by whether assistance reaches those most in need, whether decisions can be publicly justified, and whether affected communities receive adequate protection.
Two Strategies to Strengthen Aceh’s Disaster Resilience
The literature review identifies two major strategies for strengthening disaster management in Aceh.
First, governments should strengthen ethical frameworks in disaster policies and training. Disaster management personnel need more than operational procedures. Training should also expose them to ethical dilemmas that can arise during emergencies, including decisions about evacuation priorities, aid distribution, resource allocation, and post-disaster rehabilitation.
Scenario-based exercises can help officials practice making difficult decisions while maintaining principles of justice, accountability, and solidarity with disaster victims.
Second, governments should cultivate a sustained sense of crisis across government and society. Public education needs to reflect the specific risks faced by different regions. Communities in flood-prone areas need information about warning signs, evacuation procedures, and safe routes, while communities in landslide-prone areas need to recognize early signs of ground movement and understand emergency evacuation procedures.
Early-warning systems must also be accurate, accessible, and easy for communities to understand. Regular preparedness exercises involving government agencies, emergency institutions, and local communities can help ensure that disaster response does not depend entirely on decisions made after a disaster has already occurred.
Implications for Public Policy
The study places moral responsibility at the center of effective disaster governance. Local governments need technical and logistical capacity, but these capabilities must be accompanied by justice, accountability, solidarity, and a strong sense of urgency.
Firmansyah and his colleagues from Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta argue that successful disaster risk transformation depends not only on available resources but also on the ability of institutions to translate ethical values and crisis awareness into concrete action.
This approach could help narrow the gap between disaster policies and their implementation in the field. When governments identify threats early while considering the needs and rights of affected communities, disaster management can become more responsive, responsible, and sustainable.
The study uses a narrative literature review, an approach that synthesizes and interprets academic literature, disaster agency reports, publications, and government policy documents. The researchers organized the material around three main themes: ethics in action, sense of crisis, and disaster management.
Because the study is based on a literature review, it does not directly measure the impact of ethics programs or crisis-awareness training on government performance in the field. The authors therefore recommend further research examining the long-term effects of ethics-based risk transformation on community resilience, early-warning systems, crisis-response coordination, and sustained collaboration between local governments and community organizations.
About the Authors
Yasef Firmansyah, Fidhia Aruni, Rahmat Salam, and Andriansyah are affiliated with Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta. Their work addresses issues related to public administration, governance, policy ethics, crisis management, and disaster governance. Yasef Firmansyah is listed as the corresponding author of the article.
0 Komentar