The sun had risen a bit when the Emergency Response Team from ASB Indonesia and the Philippines left Purwodadi to head to Demak on Saturday, February 17, 2024. The team continued their humanitarian mission to Demak Regency after completing their tasks in Grobogan Regency.
In Demak, Asrofi, a person with disabilities and a member of the Disability Disaster Response Service Unit (LIDi PB) of the Demak Regency BPBD, was already waiting. Asrofi is one of the residents of Karanganyar Village, Karanganyar Subdistrict, Demak Regency, affected by the flood in early February 2024.
Asrofi’s introduction to the ASB team began when he participated in a disaster management training for People with Disabilities Organizations (OPDis) organized by ASB in November 2023. In this training, Asrofi received various information about disaster management, the role of people with disabilities, including the use of Skyhydrant, a water filtering tool owned by ASB.
“This is the biggest flood to hit Karangnyar in decades,” Asrofi said when the ASB team finally met him at a corner of the Kudus Bus Terminal, which served as the meeting point. Previously, the last major flood that hit Karanganyar Village with a height of almost two meters occurred in 1982. It was only in 2024 that a flood of similar intensity occurred again.
Asrofi recounted that during the flood, he was at a makeshift evacuation site on top of the embankment where the river water overflowed and inundated his village. Initially, Asrofi’s family was also on the embankment. However, considering his elderly father who was starting to fall ill, he evacuated his father to a village hall in the neighboring Kudus Regency, adjacent to Karanganyar Village. His younger sibling also evacuated to this place.
Throughout the meeting with Asrofi, his phone in his hand never stopped buzzing. It turned out that he was waiting for a friend, another person with disabilities who would join him to Karanganyar Village. Asrofi also had to answer various phone calls and text messages from various parties inquiring about the current conditions in Karanganyar Village. Among these parties were the Migrant Care NGO, fellow members of the OPDis, and local residents.
Asrofi, as a person with disabilities with mobility impairments, seemed to experience no obstacles whatsoever. Since the flood began to hit his village, he has been actively involved in various activities supporting disaster management efforts.
When the water started to rise in his area, he participated in the evacuation until dawn. Then, when the flood began to recede, he was on the embankment to evacuate and guard various assets of the residents located there, such as vehicles and various electronic equipment. Now, in the post-flood situation, he is accompanying various humanitarian organizations that will provide assistance to Karanganyar Village, such as the ASB team and various other organizations.
Read the previous part of the Journey Story of Demak Flood Response
Read the next part of the Journey Story of Demak Flood Response
Flood Disaster Response in Karanganyar [Part 3 of Journey Story of Demak Flood Response]
