Population distribution analysis in Banda Aceh City for tsunami disaster risk reduction

Areas affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami have recovered following a long-term reconstruction process, including Banda Aceh City, Indonesia. Using data from the Statistics Indonesia, this study aims to analyze population dynamics in Banda Aceh City, starting from 2004 (pre-tsunami), 2005 (shortly after the tsunami), as well as 2010 and 2020 (post-reconstruction phase). Population dynamics are calculated at the sub-district (kecamatan) level by observing trends and changes in size and rank based on population density and population growth rate values. Some of the tsunami-affected sub-districts have experienced population recovery to pre-disaster levels, while population growth in safe areas is relatively high in line with development directions to the east and south of the city. However, disaster risk reduction tasks will be even more challenging as the population in coastal areas is growing at an alarming rate. Therefore, the government needs to design a comprehensive policy to minimize the population's exposure to the tsunami hazard. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.