Saving lives, restoring livelihoods: building resilient communities in Indonesia

Key Takeaways

• Flooding continues to threaten communities across Indonesia, often causing significant losses to lives, livelihoods, and infrastructure.
• ADB is helping communities better prepare for floods through investments in flood protection infrastructure and advanced early warning systems.
• Building resilience goes beyond flood protection. Livelihood support is helping affected families restore incomes and create new economic opportunities.

For many communities across Indonesia, floods can arrive with little warning and leave lasting scars.

In Demak, Central Java Province, Hariyanti still remembers the day floodwaters surged into her home near the Wulan River.

“The water came so fast. I didn’t even have time to save anything. I just ran.”

Her story is echoed across Indonesia. Flooding remains one of the country’s most serious hazards, driven by heavier rainfall, changing weather patterns, and rapid urbanization. From 2010-2025, floods claimed more than 1,700 lives, affected more than 5.6 million people, damaged nearly 1.6 million homes, and caused an estimated $5.8 billion in losses.

In Banten Province’s Ciujung River basin, west of Jakarta, a devastating flood in 2013 affected more than 19,000 households and displaced over 50,000 people. The river overflowed onto the Jakarta-Merak toll road, disrupting a critical transport link between Java and Sumatra islands.

The memory of past floods remains vivid. Sadeli, a farmer living near the Ciujung River, remembers the devastating flood that submerged 44 subdistricts in 2013.

“The water reached the rooftops. People fled to higher ground along the roadsides. Farmers lost everything. Their forthcoming rice harvest vanished,” he said. “If only there had been a warning, we could have prepared. We could have saved ourselves and our belongings.”

Similar challenges were experienced thousands of kilometers away from Jakarta. Limited river management capacity and unregulated settlements along the banks of Wai Batu Merah, a river running through the heart of Ambon City, Maluku Province’s trading center, caused recurring floods in 2012 and 2013 disrupting the lives and livelihoods of surrounding communities.

For small business owner Sufinah, the consequences were devastating.

“My shop was flooded for almost a week. All the goods and supplies were destroyed and my kiosk had to be closed. There was no warning. No sign at all. The water just came suddenly, even though it wasn’t raining that day.”

Turning Information into Action

To help communities better prepare for floods, ADB supported the Government of Indonesia through the Flood Management in Selected River Basins (FMSRB) Sector Project implemented from 2016 to 2024 in (Ambon City, Maluku Province) and Banten Province (Serang, Lebak and Pandeglang District). The project combined flood protection infrastructure with forecasting tools, flood risk management plans, and community preparedness measures.

“ADB’s assistance helps communities cope with flooding by coupling infrastructure investment with supporting measures such as flood risk management plans,” said ADB Principal Water Resources Specialist Eric Quincieu. “The project aims to reduce the economic and social impacts of floods, with a strong focus on strengthening community resilience.”

A major milestone came in 2023 with the launch of SiRINI-PRAKTIS, Sistem Peringatan Dini dan Perkiraan Banjir Tiga Sungai Cidanau Ciujung Cidurian, a flood forecasting and early warning system covering the Ciujung, Cidanau, and Cidurian river basins. The platform integrates information from Indonesia’s national meteorological agency, allowing operators to monitor rainfall intensity in real time. It provides a seven-day weather forecast, estimates flood discharge and affected areas, and shares data with disaster management agencies to help trigger flood warnings for communities at risk.

Inside the monitoring center, hydrologist Nida Afiliani and her colleagues watch data streaming in from stations across the river basin.

“This Command Center operates continuously, in real-time,” she said. “We must always be ready to provide information, especially during the rainy season. The disaster task force team monitors the situation around the clock, working in rotating shifts.”

Accessible online from anywhere, SiRINI-PRAKTIS sends updates every three hours to government agencies and community flood preparedness groups through mobile devices. This allows emergency responders and local authorities to monitor evolving conditions and coordinate responses more effectively.

Today, sirens installed in flood-prone villages such as Undar Andir, Walikun, and Puser in the Ciujung River basin provide another layer of protection. The system can issue alerts up to nine hours before floodwaters reach affected communities, giving residents valuable time to safeguard belongings, move livestock, and evacuate if necessary.

For communities that once faced floods without warning, those extra hours can make a critical difference. When communities receive warnings early enough, they can protect lives, reduce losses, and recover more quickly after disasters.

Expanding Digital Solutions

Building on the success of SiRINI-PRAKTIS, ADB has been supporting the expansion of digital flood management solutions through the Flood Management in North Java Project. The project helps communities in the Cimanuk-Cisanggarung and Jratunseluna river basins strengthen resilience through a combination of infrastructure investments, nature-based solutions, and digital innovations.

A key component is the development of a Flood Forecasting and Early Warning Flood Management System that integrates satellite-based technologies and hydrometeorological sensors to improve flood monitoring and emergency response.

By 2029, the project is expected to reduce flood risk for approximately 485,000 people.

Building Resilience Beyond Infrastructure

Building resilience means more than helping communities prepare for and respond to floods. It also means ensuring that people affected by flood management investments can restore their livelihoods and benefit from the opportunities those investments create.

Building flood protection infrastructure can affect communities, particularly when land or assets are needed for public works. Under the Flood Management in Selected River Basins Sector Project, livelihood support helped ensure that affected households were not left worse off as flood protection infrastructure was developed.

Through the Livelihood Restoration Program, vulnerable and severely affected households received compensation for lost land and assets, together with training in aquaculture, livestock raising, bamboo handicrafts, and other income-generating activities. Technical assistance through the Sustainable Infrastructure Assistance Program Phase II, supported by the Australian Government, helped strengthen the program and document lessons that can inform future projects.

A livelihood restoration program helped families affected by land acquisition create a new source of income through aquaculture. Led by Asman Afandi, a cooperative of 16 households now manages 30 fish cages, generating higher earnings and opening new opportunities for the wider community.

Thirty affected households transformed a traditional skill into a stronger livelihood. Through bamboo weaving training and support, women in Panosogan, Dukuh, and Nagara villages are improving their products, expanding market opportunities, and earning income from home.

Families affected by flood management works have embraced duck farming and livestock raising as a new livelihood, creating steady income while investing in their community’s future.

By placing people at the center of infrastructure development, flood protection and economic opportunity can go hand in hand, delivering lasting solutions to complex challenges. The Livelihood Restoration Program helped affected households restore incomes and pursue new opportunities, while flood protection works reduced risks for surrounding communities.

Working with Nature, Not Against It

ADB is promoting nature-based solutions (NBS) as part of an integrated approach to flood risk management. Rather than relying solely on engineered infrastructure, NBS works with nature by restoring and enhancing natural river functions that help reduce flood risks while delivering environmental, social, and economic benefits.

The Flood Management in North Java Project adopts NBS as an integrated approach to reduce flood impact in the national priority areas in northern Java. “We hope that application of more nature positive approaches in river works will help transition flood management in Indonesia towards more resilient and sustainable pathways,” said Junko Sagara, Senior Water Resources Specialist.

Preparing for the Future

Floods will remain a serious challenge for many communities in Indonesia. But better information, stronger institutions, resilient infrastructure, and inclusive livelihood support are helping communities prepare for the risks ahead.

By linking early warning systems with physical protection and support for affected households, ADB is helping Indonesia manage flood risks more comprehensively, before, during, and after a crisis.

True resilience means more than surviving the next flood. It means giving people the information, protection, and opportunities they need to move forward.