On the northern coast of Central Java, Indonesia, villages are hit hard as sea levels rise, an effect of climate change. Many villagers have fled the area. Others lack the money to move. Here are the stories of 10 families, doing what they can to get by.
On the northern coast of Central Java, Indonesia, villages are hit hard as sea levels rise, one of many effects of climate change. Many homes have been “raised” with cement or dirt several times over in an effort by occupants to keep dry. Others can only be accessed when the tide is low, trapping people inside for hours at a time.
Zuriah’s daughter now lives with relatives outside the village so it’s easier for her to attend school. She says her daughter worries about her, but that she tells her that she must get an education so she can chase her dreams.When talking about whether she wants to move away from her flooded village, Dwi Ulfani begins to cry.
Wahyuni and her husband Jaka Sadewa moved to the village after they got married in 2018. She says that when they moved here the water wasn’t like this; You could still ride motorcycles along the main road through the village, and the water level always went back down to normal. Kumaison says her home has been raised with concrete and dirt three times now, each time being followed by even higher flooding. In the flooded front yard, villagers have helped her build nets that help catch trash, preventing it from floating into her home. She has trouble sleeping at night, worried that the floods will get even higher in the middle of the night.
Like many homes in the village, the windows are partially immersed in the sea water that is a permanent fixture inside. In some areas, barnacles and mold rings cling to the walls. Personal items, such as a refrigerator, clothes and an old clock, are kept on wooden platforms elevated above the water from the rising sea level.Mar’iah sits in a chair at the end of the village’s elevated walkway, her flooded wooden home not far behind her.
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