Where disaster strikes, these communities in Indonesia are ready

Indonesian man with hand radio and broadcasting equipment intended for use during emergency moments. — In Sulawesi, Nur is on the sub-district disaster preparedness committee, which alerts authorities during natural disasters despite failed communications networks.

June 17, 2026

According to the United Nations, Indonesia is ranked the world’s second most disaster-prone country. In 2025, the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency reported more than 4,700 natural disasters over a single year—an average of nearly 13 disasters were recorded every single day. In a country where disasters are prevalent, preparedness can mean the difference between tragedy and recovery. Advance preparation gives communities the tools, knowledge, and confidence to act before disaster strikes.

By constructing a radio tower, providing communications equipment, facilitating evacuation training, and hosting workshops on climate-resilient gardening, Mercy Corps is helping families recover sooner and build a more sustainable future.

Connecting communities to safety

Nur has lived in Bolapapu village in Central Sulawesi his entire life, raising a family and cultivating a farm that now grows cocoa and durian. One of the frequent challenges that families face arrives every rainy season, bringing floods and landslides, claiming lives, and wiping out livelihoods.

It wasn’t that long ago that the people in Bolapapu used to depend on unreliable walkie-talkies, word of mouth, and striking bamboo gongs to warn of an impending flood or landslide. “We had been struggling in the face of natural disasters since we had no way of communicating,” said Nur.

Indonesian man speaking into hand radio with embedded text indicating emergency preparedness strategies in indonesia.

“Because when it rains, the electricity on this island is guaranteed to go out. The [communications] network would also be down as well,” said Nur, describing how essential it is to have reliable ways to reach community members during the rainy season. “That's our difficulty. When the lights go out, we can't do much without the electricity.”

Indonesians standing in a group in front of radio antenna. — Members of the disaster preparedness committee and Mercy Corps team members in front of the new radio tower used to alert authorities during disasters.

In 2024, Mercy Corps helped build a radio tower, delivered communications equipment, and provided evacuation training to 17 members of the sub-district disaster preparedness committee, including Nur. “Our very first training was to evacuate victims, and learning a better communication system,” Nur explained. The training introduced early warning stages: Alert, Beware, Standby, and Warning, bringing structure and speed to their response.

The new system was tested in August 2025 when flash floods hit a neighboring village. Using the equipment, the team alerted authorities in the capital city of Palu and coordinated aid despite heavy rain and downed networks. There were no casualties. “Those trainings really helped us,” said Nur. In a place where disaster is common, the support has strengthened the community’s ability to protect one another, and to act quickly when every minute counts.

Growing food, building resilience

“In the morning, we have fried bananas or we make boiled bananas for breakfast. In the afternoon, we have rice with eggplant, and water spinach,” said Mardianti, describing the meals she regularly prepares for her husband and children. She and her husband also grow coconuts, chilies, and cucumbers on their one-hectare farmland in Poi, Central Sulawesi. They eat about half of their crop yields and sell the other half.

“When the weather is predictable, I can grow and harvest water spinach and long beans,” said Mardianti, reflecting on how the climate is affecting her family’s income. Increasingly extreme weather like heat, heavy rain, floods, and landslides have damaged crops and reduced both her income and the food she can bring home. “If the weather is bad, I can’t harvest anything since the plants are covered with worms.”

Indonesian woman in field with embedded text describing her emergency response preparedness strategies.

In 2019, disaster struck at night during Ramadan. “From the mountain up there, water came down to our settlements and we ran for our dear lives,” Mardianti recalled. Her family was displaced for a week after their home was flooded. That night, a siren warned residents to evacuate, part of an early warning system installed by Mercy Corps.

Today, Mardianti leads a group of 20 women managing a communal garden, growing cucumbers, long beans, mustard greens, chili, tomatoes, cassava, and papaya. The garden was created to strengthen food security in case flooding cuts off access to markets or destroys crops near the river.

Group of indonesians, gather in agricultural field, a group with emergency preparedness strategies in place. — Mardianti leads a communal garden that will provide food in case flooding cuts off access to markets or destroys crops near the river.

Through training from Mercy Corps, she has learned to make organic fertilizer and improve planting techniques. “Our fruit has grown beautifully because we use organic fertilizer,” she said. Additionally, Mercy Corps installed a solar-powered camera in a nearby village to monitor water levels at the Sabo Dam on the Palu River. The camera is remotely monitored and a part of an early warning system that helps communities downstream prepare for impending floods: saving lives and property.

By growing food collectively and strengthening their early warning systems, the community is better prepared for the next flood. Disasters may be inevitable, but their repercussions do not have to be. Through early warning systems, emergency training, and support for livelihoods and food security, communities are more prepared to respond and recover in the wake of crisis.