Resilience and Vulnerability of Coastal Communities: A Case Study of Tambak Lorok, Semarang-Indonesia in Facing Flood Risks

Main Article Content

Sammy Alidrus
Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia
Agus Wiyono
Universitas Negeri Surabaya, Surabaya, Indonesia

This study examines the resilience and vulnerability of the Tambak Lorok coastal community in Semarang to recurring flood events. The research adopts a descriptive qualitative approach to explore the socio-economic, environmental, and infrastructural aspects influencing the community’s adaptive capacity. Through in-depth interviews, field observations, and document analysis, the study identifies key factors contributing to the community’s vulnerability, including reliance on flood-prone economic activities, inadequate housing infrastructure, and limited access to resources. The role of local institutions is also highlighted as a critical factor in enhancing community resilience through training and support programs. Despite ongoing mitigation efforts, such as the construction of levees and drainage improvements, the findings indicate that these measures have not fully protected the community from flood impacts. The study concludes with policy recommendations aimed at improving infrastructure, diversifying economic activities, and strengthening disaster mitigation strategies to enhance the long-term resilience of the Tambak Lorok community. This research contributes valuable insights into the challenges faced by coastal communities in adapting to the increasing risks posed by climate change and environmental hazards.


Keywords: Resilience, Urban Coastal Areas, Tambak Lorok
Arouri, Mohamed, Nguyen, Cuong, & Youssef, Adel Ben. (2015). Natural disasters, household welfare, and resilience: evidence from rural Vietnam. World Development, 70, 59–77.
Berkes, Fikret, & Ross, Helen. (2016). Panarchy and community resilience: Sustainability science and policy implications. Environmental Science & Policy, 61, 185–193.
Cutter, Susan L., Boruff, Bryan J., & Shirley, W. Lynn. (2012). Social vulnerability to environmental hazards. In Hazards vulnerability and environmental justice (pp. 143–160). Routledge.
Cutter, Susan L., Burton, Christopher G., & Emrich, Christopher T. (2010). Disaster resilience indicators for benchmarking baseline conditions. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.2202/1547-7355.1732
Danzer, Alexander M., & Dietz, Barbara. (2018). The economic and social determinants of migrants’ well-being during the global financial crisis. Available at SSRN 3111145.
Hansen, Leslie Ann, Mcnaughton, Michael, Kowalewski, Ashley Marie, Chan, Allison Mew ling, Gaukler, Shannon Marie, & Hathcock, Charles Dean. (2022). ASER Annual Site Environmental Report 2020. Los Alamos National Lab.(LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States).
Hunt, Carter A., & Harbor, Lucy C. (2019). Pro-environmental tourism: Lessons from adventure, wellness and eco-tourism (AWE) in Costa Rica. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 28(November 2018), 100202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2018.11.007
Indriani, Ida Ayu Debora, Rahayu, Mintarti, & Hadiwidjojo, Djumilah. (2019). The influence of environmental knowledge on green purchase intention the role of attitude as mediating variable. International Journal of Multicultural and Multireligious Understanding, 6(2), 627–635. https://doi.org/10.18415/ijmmu.v6i2.706.
Kamal, A. S. M. Maksud, Shamsudduha, Mohammad, Ahmed, Bayes, Hassan, S. M. Kamrul, Islam, Md Shahidul, Kelman, Ilan, & Fordham, Maureen. (2018). Resilience to flash floods in wetland communities of northeastern Bangladesh. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 31, 478–488.
Klein, Richard J. T., Nicholls, Robert J., & Thomalla, Frank. (2003). Resilience to natural hazards: How useful is this concept? Global Environmental Change Part B: Environmental Hazards, 5(1), 35–45.
Norris, Fran H., Stevens, Susan P., Pfefferbaum, Betty, Wyche, Karen F., & Pfefferbaum, Rose L. (2008). Community resilience as a metaphor, theory, set of capacities, and strategy for disaster readiness. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 127–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-007-9156-6
O’brien, Karèn, Eriksen, Siri, Nygaard, Lynn P., & Schjolden, A. N. E. (2007). Why different interpretations of vulnerability matter in climate change discourses. Climate Policy, 7(1), 73–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2007.9685639
Rehman, Alam, Ullah, Irfan, Afridi, Fakhr e Alam, Ullah, Zain, Zeeshan, Muhammad, Hussain, Arif, & Rahman, Haseeb Ur. (2021). Adoption of green banking practices and environmental performance in Pakistan: A demonstration of structural equation modelling. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-01206-x
Shaw, Rajib. (2019). Community based disaster risk reduction. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-019-00232-6
Tarr-Attia, Christine K., Bassat, Quique, Breeze-Barry, Bondey, Lansana, Dawoh Peter, Meyer García-Sípido, Ana, Sarukhan, Adelaida, Maixenchs, Maria, Mayor, Alfredo, & Martínez-Pérez, Guillermo. (2018). Community-informed research on malaria in pregnancy in Monrovia, Liberia: a grounded theory study. Malaria Journal, 17(1), 382. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-018-2529-5
Martin, R., & Sunley, P. (2015). On the notion of regional economic resilience: Conceptualization and explanation. Journal of Economic Geography, 15(1), 1-42. https://doi.org/10.1093/jeg/lbu015
Wisner, Ben, Gaillard, Jean Christophe, & Kelman, Ilan. (2012). Handbook of hazards and disaster risk reduction. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203844236