Small Island Communities and Mount Gamalama: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Knowledge and Disaster

Abstract This mixed methods study discusses the knowledge and disaster preparedness of the Gamalama volcano among parents in one of the small islands in Eastern Indonesia, Ternate. This research consists of quantitative and qualitative stages with three studies and uses a mixed methods approach of convergent parallel designs. The quantitative research (survey) described parents’ disaster knowledge (N=338). The qualitative research consisted of an open-ended questions survey (N=338) and interviews (N=5) exploring aspects of parents’ disaster preparedness. The qualitative analysis found components of parental disaster preparedness not found in previous studies. This study has described the understanding of disaster knowledge and found seven aspects of parental preparedness for the Gamalama volcano disaster on the island of Ternate. The seven aspects of preparedness consist of 1) anticipatory emergency response plans, 2) knowledge, 3) supporting resources, 4) understanding early warning, 5) mental, 6) religiosity, and 7) local wisdom values. The religiosity and local wisdom aspects are different thematic findings from current disaster preparedness theories. Limitations of this compound study and suggestions for future research are also discussed.