Promising practices in facing earthquake and tsunami disasters from child survivors in Indonesia and Japan: A comparative literature study

Indonesia and Japan, both located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, face high risks of earthquakes and tsunamis. While conventional disaster education is widely implemented, theoretical approaches often fail to make a profound impact. This study argues that survivors' experiential narratives, especially those of children, provide authentic and practical learning resources. Using a descriptive, qualitative, and comparative literature approach, this study examines good practices in disaster response as found in child survivor stories from both countries. The primary data sources include five stories from Kiamat Sudah Lewat: Suara Anak-anak Korban Tsunami di Aceh (2016) and five from Furusato wa Fukushima Kodomotachi 3.11 (2012). The analysis identifies eight key disaster education values, emphasizing the importance of hazard awareness and understanding real disaster contexts to foster appropriate responses. Indonesian stories tend to vividly depict the terror of the disaster, while Japanese stories focus on loss and post-disaster resilience. The findings confirm that children’s testimonies are rich pedagogical resources, containing practical knowledge such as recognizing natural signs (e.g., receding seawater, smong wisdom) and performing self-rescue. This research proposes a framework for developing disaster education materials that are empathetic, student-centered, and grounded in lived experience.