A team of students from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) has successfully created an innovation that can reduce the impact of landslides and their consequences. The creation consists of an early warning system and a smart mitigation application.
The team, guided by Harjono, is a collaboration between the university’s Vocational College and the Faculty of Biology.
Feri Arifin leads the team: Ilham Fauzi, Melani Putri Pratama, Retno Mutia, and Derryl Carmenita Evelyn Winarto.
Feri Arifin explained that this creation responds to Indonesia’s status as a country prone to natural disasters. Geographically, Indonesia is located between three major tectonic plates, making it highly susceptible to earthquakes, tsunamis, and other natural disasters.
“In Indonesia, there were 716 landslide events recorded in 2022, according to the Geoportal Data of Indonesian Disasters. These landslides are often triggered by heavy rainfall,” Arifin said on Monday (October 16) at the UGM campus.
He noted that landslides occur almost every year and repeat due to the mountainous and steep terrain in many areas of Indonesia.
Therefore, with the creation of the Smart Mitigation device and application, they can detect soil moisture levels and the slope of the land in real time.
The application also includes an educational feature, allowing the community to learn what steps to take when the land conditions become abnormal.
The application also includes GPS for added security, which can help locate the device if unauthorized individuals steal it.
“Through this innovation, we hope to collaborate with the National Disaster Management Agency so that this device can be mass-produced and beneficial to the public,” Arifin added.
Author: Feri Arifin
Editor: Agung Nugroho
Photo: freepik.com