The Impact of Tsunami and Liquefaction on Traditional Marketers in Central Sulawesi Indonesia

This study discusses the changes of traditional merchant’s incomes before and after the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Central Sulawesi, especially in the three regencies affected by the natural disasters. The method used in this research is mixed method. Data were obtained through observation, interviews, and questionnaires. The quetionaires were distributed to the traditional marketers in the traditional markets within three regencies affected by the natural disasters. The results of this study indicate that there are significant differences in the economic activity and income of traditional marketers before and after the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in Central Sulawesi on 28 September 2018. Although the economic and supporting infrastructure has improved, economic activity and income are still declining and have not recovered when this study was conducted. This phenomenon was caused by the lack of supplies of natural resources to the traditional markets within the affected areas. Although the economic infrastructure has recovered, agriculture and animal husbandry have not yet recovered. Besides that, the psychology of merchants who are still traumatized has also hampered the economic recovery of the traditional merchants. We conclude that the restoration of economic infrastructure alone is not enough to restore the economic activities of traditional merchants. However, it is necessary to take psychological and social corrective actions for the traditional merchants to help them be more active in trading again to recover their income.