Public Relations Efforts in Disaster Communication to Build Public Trust

The Mount Merapi eruption is a recurring event, thus efficient disaster communication is required to lessen uncertainty when one occurs. Social capital in the form of public trust is critical for the government, particularly when communicating about the 2020-2021 Mount Merapi eruption calamity, which happened concurrently with the Covid-19 outbreak and has the potential to undermine public trust. However, the Sleman Regency Government’s Public Relations Department was successful in retaining public trust and enhancing the community’s ability to cope with disasters. This study’s problem formulation refers to Sleman Regency Government Public Relations’ efforts to enhance public trust in disaster communication. This study tries to determine and describe the public relations efforts to identify and describe the Sleman Regency Government’s public relations initiatives to increase public trust in disaster communication during the 2020-2021 Mount Merapi Eruption crisis. This is a descriptive study that takes a qualitative approach and use the case study methodology. Data was gathered through in-depth interviews with Sleman Regency Government Public Relations, the Umbulharjo Monitoring Merapi Community (UMMC), and the regional disaster management agency (BPBD) Sleman. The research findings suggest that Sleman Regency Government Public Relations, as an integral actor, has incorporated aspects capable of fostering public trust, however there are still some deficiencies. The Sleman Regency Government’s Public Relations has consistently implemented its commitment, cares about the community in disaster-prone areas, is honest and open, conveys information and provides wide access to communication as a form of concern, identifies credible communicators, namely BPBD and the Regent, and involves community leaders while implementing monitoring. The public’s faith in the Sleman Regency Government is based on its mutual integration and collaboration in disaster response. However, to obtain effective public trust, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and a clear separation of primary roles and functions in disaster communication must still be established.