Strengthening Community Preparedness for Earthquakes in the Cidahu Region

Abstract

Earthquakes are among the most frequent natural disasters in Indonesia because of the country's location at the meeting point of three tectonic plates, while public preparedness for this hazard generally remains moderate to low, particularly regarding ownership of disaster-readiness bags. A similar condition was found among residents of Cidahu Village, Pagaden Barat Subdistrict, Subang Regency, West Java, a province with one of the highest recorded rates of damaging earthquakes nationally over the past three years. This community service activity aimed to improve public knowledge and preparedness in facing earthquake disasters. The methods used included audiovisual material presentation, leaflet distribution, direct education on pre-, during-, and post-disaster actions, and free blood-pressure screening. The activity was held on 14 September 2025 at the Cidahu Village Hall, involving 31 Nursing Diploma students as implementers along with 40 local residents as participants. Evaluation through question-and-answer sessions showed that participants could explain the contents of disaster-readiness bags and self-protection steps during an earthquake, although the knowledge gain was not measured with a standardized instrument. This activity is expected to become a sustainable model for village-level disaster-preparedness education