Community Empowerment to Enhance Health Preparedness for Disasters in Flood-Prone Areas

Floods are one of the most frequent hydrometeorological disasters in Indonesia and cause various physical and psychosocial health impacts. The high health risks due to floods require strong public health preparedness through a community empowerment approach as a community-based disaster risk reduction strategy. Purpose: This study aims to analyze the relationship between community empowerment and health preparedness in facing flood disasters and identify empowerment factors that most influence public health preparedness. Method: The study used a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional observational analytical design. The study was conducted in Aia Pacah Village, Padang City, from January–March 2026 involving 420 respondents selected using a proportionate random sampling technique. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed through univariate analysis, correlation, and multiple linear regression. Results: The results showed that the level of community empowerment and health preparedness was still dominated by the moderate category. There was a positive and significant relationship between community empowerment and health preparedness (r=0.682; p<0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that disaster education was the most dominant factor in improving health preparedness, followed by community participation, disaster preparedness cadres, and institutional support. The research model explained 54.9% of the variation in community health preparedness. Conclusion: Community empowerment plays a significant role in improving public health preparedness in flood-prone areas. Community-based health programs integrated with disaster management systems need to be prioritized to strengthen resilience to flood-related health risks.