How Can Local Knowledge and Infrastructure Engineering be Bridged for Tsunami Resilience? A Systematic Scoping Review of Socio-Technical Mitigation Framework
Tsunami resilience research has advanced significantly in both indigenous knowledge and engineering-based mitigation. However, these domains are often treated in isolation, which limits the development of integrated socio-technical catastrophe risk reduction solutions. This review examines how recent literature conceptualizes the relationship between local knowledge and tsunami mitigation engineering and operational planning, identifies mitigation functions that bridge these domains, and highlights existing knowledge gaps in socio-technical tsunami resilience. A systematic scoping study was undertaken utilizing the PRISMA framework and peer-reviewed literature published from 2020 to early 2026. Scopus and Web of Science search algorithms were used, supplemented by manual searches, to conduct the searches. The review used narrative analysis to synthesize twenty papers that met inclusion criteria. For each study, we categorized how indigenous knowledge was handled, what engineering could be put into action, and the socio-technical integration. The results show that indigenous knowledge is closely linked to how people perceive risks, understand warning messages, and evacuate. In contrast, engineering studies mostly focus on hazard assessment, early warning systems, evacuation modeling, and infrastructure development. In fields like warning architecture, evacuation route planning, and shelter location, research has rarely incorporated culturally grounded knowledge directly. Japanese Bosai and Indonesian Smong practices exemplify socio-technical integration; in both cases, engineering systems incorporate collective memory, trustworthy communication, and institutional support. A growing disparity exists between what communities know and what engineers do in the field. The study concluded that indigenous knowledge should be integrated into engineering designs, warning systems, evacuation strategies, and infrastructure development to make communities more resilient to tsunamis. Consideration of co-designed socio-technical frameworks, comparison of their application in various tsunami-prone areas, and development of equity-sensitive indicators are all avenues for future study that can contribute to disaster risk reduction efforts that are more community-centered and inclusive.
Keywords: Disaster risk reduction, Tsunami resilience, Indigenous knowledge, Socio-technical systems.
Adityawan, M. B., Nurendyastuti, A. K., Purnama, M. R., Arifianto, M. S., Farid, M., Kuntoro, A. A., & Widyaningtias. (2023). Development of a tsunami early warning system on the Coast of Palu based on maritime wireless communication. Progress in Disaster Science, 19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pdisas.2023.100290
Benazir, & Oktari, R. S. (2024). Assessing tsunami risk along the Aceh Coast, Indonesia: a quantitative analysis of fault rupture potential and early warning system efficacy for predicting arrival time and flood extent. Natural Hazards, 120(5), 4875–4900. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-024-06401-x
Benazir, Syamsidik, Idris, Y., & Putra, N. P. (2023). Connecting community’s perspectives on tsunami risk to anticipated future tsunamis: a reflection from a progress of tsunami preparedness from a coastal community in Aceh-Indonesia after 19 years of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. Geoenvironmental Disasters, 10(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40677-023-00252-7
Carvajal, M., Araya-Cornejo, C., Sepúlveda, I., Melnick, D., & Haase, J. S. (2019). Nearly instantaneous tsunamis following the Mw 7.5 2018 Palu Earthquake. Geophysical Research Letters, 46(10), 5117–5126. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019GL082578
Chen, C., Wang, H., Lindell, M. K., Jung, M. C., & Siam, M. R. K. (2022a). Tsunami preparedness and resilience: Evacuation logistics and time estimations. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment, 109, 103324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2022.103324
Daly, P., Sieh, K., Seng, T. Y., Edwards McKinnon, E., Parnell, A. C., Ardiansyah., Feener, R. M., Ismail, N., Nizamuddin., & Majewski, J. (2019). Archaeological evidence that a late 14th-century tsunami devastated the coast of northern Sumatra and redirected history. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(24), 11679–11686. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902241116
Hadlos, A., Opdyke, A., & Hadigheh, S. A. (2022). Where does local and indigenous knowledge in disaster risk reduction go from here? A systematic literature review. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 79, 103160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103160
Hermans, T. D. G., Šakić Trogrlić, R., van den Homberg, M. J. C., Bailon, H., Sarku, R., & Mosurska, A. (2022). Exploring the integration of local and scientific knowledge in early warning systems for disaster risk reduction: a review. Natural Hazards, 114(2), 1125–1152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05468-8
Hui, C., Ning, L., & Cheng, C. (2022). Risk assessment of tsunamis along the Chinese Coast due to earthquakes. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 13(2), 275–290. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-022-00407-4
Ismail, N., Okazaki, K., Ochiai, C., & Fernandez, G. (2018). Livelihood changes in Banda Aceh, Indonesia after the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 28, 439–449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2017.09.003
Ito, E., Kosaka, T., Hatayama, M., Urra, L., Mas, E., & Koshimura, S. (2021). Method to extract difficult-to-evacuate areas by using tsunami evacuation simulation and numerical analysis. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 64, 102486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102486
Kubisch, S., Guth, J., Keller, S., Bull, M. T., Keller, L., & Braun, A. Ch. (2020b). The contribution of tsunami evacuation analysis to evacuation planning in Chile: Applying a multi-perspective research design. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 45, 101462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101462
Liu, Y., Ren, Y., Wen, R., & Wang, H. (2021). Probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment for the Southeast Coast of China: Consideration of both regional and local potential sources. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 178(12), 5061–5084. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-021-02878-w
Martin, S. S., Li, L., Okal, E. A., Morin, J., Tetteroo, A. E. G., Switzer, A. D., & Sieh, K. E. (2019). Reassessment of the 1907 Sumatra “Tsunami Earthquake” Based on macroseismic, seismological, and tsunami observations, and modeling. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 176(7), 2831–2868. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-019-02134-2
Mikulecký, P., Punčochářová, A., Babič, F., Bureš, V., Čech, P., Husáková, M., Mls, K., Nacházel, T., Ponce, D., Štekerová, K., Triantafyllou, I., Tučník, P., Sunanda, V., & Zanker, M. (2023). Dealing with risks associated with tsunamis using indigenous knowledge approaches. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 86, 103534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103534
Mori, N., Satake, K., Cox, D., Goda, K., Catalan, P. A., Ho, T.-C., Imamura, F., Tomiczek, T., Lynett, P., Miyashita, T., Muhari, A., Titov, V., & Wilson, R. (2022). Giant tsunami monitoring, early warning and hazard assessment. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 3(9), 557–572. . https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-022-00327-3
Mulia, I. E., Ishibe, T., Satake, K., Gusman, A. R., & Murotani, S. (2020). Regional probabilistic tsunami hazard assessment associated with active faults along the eastern margin of the Sea of Japan. Earth, Planets and Space, 72(1), 123. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-020-01256-5
Nakasu, T. (2026). Assessing tsunami mortality risk in aging societies: a human vulnerability index and policy projection model. SN Social Sciences, 6(2), 42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-025-01281-9
Park, H., & Cox, D. T. (2016). Probabilistic assessment of near-field tsunami hazards: Inundation depth, velocity, momentum flux, arrival time, and duration applied to Seaside, Oregon. Coastal Engineering, 117, 79–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2016.07.011
Pastrana-Huguet, J., Casado-Claro, M. F., & Gavari-Starkie, E. (2022). Japan’s culture of prevention: How Bosai culture combines cultural heritage with state-of-the-art disaster risk management systems. In Sustainability (Switzerland) (Vol. 14, Number 21). MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142113742
Rachman, Y. A., Sumarwan, U., Latifah, M., & Herawati, T. (2023). Factors influencing the social-emotional development of children and adolescents: A study systematic literature review. Journal of Family Sciences, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.29244/jfs.vi.49789
Rahman, A., Nazaruddin, M., Januriyadi, N. F., & Affan, M. (2024). Cross-generational Smong narratives in Aceh’s tsunami resilience. Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, 8(3), 943–970. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41685-024-00346-6
Rayawan, J., Tipnis, V. S., & Pedraza-Martinez, A. J. (2021). On the connection between disaster mitigation and disaster preparedness: the case of Aceh province, Indonesia. Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management, 11(1), 135–154. https://doi.org/10.1108/JHLSCM-12-2019-0081
Rubin, C. M., Horton, B. P., Sieh, K., Pilarczyk, J. E., Daly, P., Ismail, N., & Parnell, A. C. (2017). Highly variable recurrence of tsunamis in the 7,400 years before the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Nature Communications, 8(1), 16019. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms16019
Siroj, E. Y., Sunarti, E., Krisnatuti, D., Muflikhati, I., & Johan, I. R. (2024). Resilience of families surviving the Cianjur earthquake disaster: relation to economic pressure, religiosity and coping strategies. Multidisciplinary Science Journal, 7(6), 2025267. https://doi.org/10.31893/multiscience.2025267
Srinivasa Kumar, T., & Manneela, S. (2021). A review of the progress, challenges and future trends in tsunami early warning systems. Journal of the Geological Society of India, 97(12), 1533–1544. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-021-1910-0
Sufri, S., Dwirahmadi, F., Phung, D., & Rutherford, S. (2020a). Enhancing community engagement in disaster early warning system in Aceh, Indonesia: opportunities and challenges. Natural Hazards, 103(3), 2691–2709. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-020-04098-2
Sufri, S., Dwirahmadi, F., Phung, D., & Rutherford, S. (2020b). Progress in the early warning system in Aceh province, Indonesia since the 2004 earthquake-tsunami. Environmental Hazards, 19(5), 463–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2019.1653816
Sutton, S. A., Paton, D., Buergelt, P., Meilianda, E., & Sagala, S. (2020a). What’s in a name? “Smong” and the sustaining of risk communication and DRR behaviours as evocation fades. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 44, 101408. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2019.101408
Sutton, S. A., Paton, D., Buergelt, P., Sagala, S., & Meilianda, E. (2020b). Sustaining a transformative disaster risk reduction strategy: grandmothers’ telling and singing tsunami stories for over 100 years saving lives on Simeulue Island. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 7764. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17217764
Sutton, S. A., Paton, D., Buergelt, P., Sagala, S., & Meilianda, E. (2021). Nandong smong and tsunami lullabies: Song and music as an effective communication tool in disaster risk reduction. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 65, 102527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102527
Vasileiou, K., Barnett, J., & Fraser, D. S. (2022). Integrating local and scientific knowledge in disaster risk reduction: A systematic review of motivations, processes, and outcomes. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 81, 103255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103255
Wang, H., Mostafizi, A., Cramer, L. A., Cox, D., & Park, H. (2016). An agent-based model of a multimodal near-field tsunami evacuation: Decision-making and life safety. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 64, 86–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trc.2015.11.010
Wood, N., Jones, J., Peters, J., & Richards, K. (2018). Pedestrian evacuation modeling to reduce vehicle use for distant tsunami evacuations in Hawaiʻi. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 28, 271–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2018.03.009
Yonvitner, Agus, S. B., Perdinan, Ramadhani, R. A., & Wicaksana, B. A. (2021). A framework of artificial intelligent for investment assessment in coastal and small island area, relate to disaster risk. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 744(1), 012104. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/744/1/012104
Yonvitner, Y., LIoret, J., Boer, M., Kurnia, R., Akmal, S. G., Yuliana, E., Yani, D. E., Gómez, S., & Setijorini, L. E. (2020). Vulnerability of marine resources to small-scale fishing in a tropical area: The example of Sunda Strait in Indonesia. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 27(5), 472–480. https://doi.org/10.1111/fme.12428
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The copyright is reserved to Bulletin of Social Studies and Community Development that is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Address:
CV. IMRECS: Jalan Gagak I, Kecamatan Larangan, Kota Tangerang. Postal Code: 15155