UNAIR NEWS – Disaster mitigation is a success that is almost never seen, that is exactly where lives and assets are saved. Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) disaster mitigation expert Aditya Prana Iswara PhD emphasized the statement during a satellite session of Garda Ksatria Airlangga, Mahagana, and IKA UNAIR at UNAIR MERR-C Campus on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The Head of the Disaster Response Study Program at the UNAIR Postgraduate School explained a paradox in disaster management. Iswara said that emergency response during a disaster often becomes a visible failure that attracts heavy media coverage, whereas prevention stands as an invisible success that operates in silence.
Hidden achievement
Iswara pointed to the flash flood in Agam Regency, West Sumatra, which was covered by dozens of online media outlets. He noted that the massive efforts behind successfully preventing disasters are almost never recorded or appreciated.
“When a disaster occurs, response efforts are visible, and the media heavily covers it. However, when a disaster is successfully prevented, people do not even know that others have worked hard behind it,” Iswara said.
Stop the fire before it turns
As a doctor with a degree in disaster mitigation and environmental engineering, he also highlighted the issue of forest and land fires (karhutla). He emphasized that efforts to mitigate karhutla must begin before fires break out, rather than waiting for them to grow out of control.
“Putting out fires requires high costs and a great deal of effort. Preventing them from the start is far more efficient,” he said.
Iswara also showed a map of Indonesian disaster vulnerability indices from BNPB’s InaRISK, which is dominated by red, indicating high vulnerability. A number of regencies in East Java, such as Lumajang, Banyuwangi, Malang, Jember, and Pasuruan, are among the top-ranked areas on the map.
Message to government
Iswara calls on the government to strengthen prevention and preparedness, not just emergency response. Through the participation of UNAIR experts alongside Garda Ksatria Airlangga, Mahagana, and alumni in the SDGs Connect series, the university reaffirms its readiness to serve as a frontline force in strengthening national disaster resilience.
“Prevention should be recognized as an achievement, even if the results aren’t immediately visible. Funding and attention shouldn’t only come after a disaster,” he concluded.
Author: Farelnanda Ramadhani
Editor: Khefti Al Mawalia
