Community Empowerment for Flood Disaster Risk Reduction in Wetland Areas

Flood disasters often result in large material losses but also cause significant social and environmental impacts. Comprehensive and sustainable mitigation efforts are needed through community empowerment to reduce the risk and effects of flood disasters. Community empowerment in flood disaster mitigation includes training, counseling, and increased participation in decision-making. This research aims to analyze community empowerment in the context of flood disaster risk reduction in wetland areas. The number of samples in this study was 655 people from 2 villages with the most severe flood conditions in the Sungai Tabuk sub-district; 32 questions were asked about physical capital, social capital, human capital, empowerment capabilities, empowerment processes, and community empowerment. Each category of questions is designed to measure specific aspects of community empowerment and its impact on flood risk reduction. Data analysis used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). SEM was chosen for its ability to test complex relationships between variables, including latent variables, and evaluate models with many variables simultaneously. In the context of flood disaster risk reduction, SEM can identify the influence of various indicators (physical capital, social capital, human capital, empowerment capability, and empowerment process) on community empowerment. The results show that social and human capital has not significantly affected community empowerment due to low compliance with social norms and a lack of coordination and synergy between community groups in flood management. Physical capital, empowerment capability, and empowerment process significantly influence community empowerment. The availability of flood evacuation facilities and the community's experience of flood events have a role in flood risk reduction. The role of the government through various empowerment programs is also crucial in improving community empowerment to create an independent community in flood risk reduction.