Indonesia country profile

BACKGROUND

The largest archipelago in the world, Indonesia consists of more than 17,500 tropical islands, which span the Equator and extend 5,120km from east to west, and 1,760km from north to south. The world’s fourth-most populous country, it is a rapidly developing nation – but an estimated 27 per cent of the population still lives below the poverty line.

Indonesia’s temperature is relatively consistent, but rainfall varies greatly, with two monsoonal wet and dry seasons. Its annual rainfall totals are among the highest in the world.

Indonesians are exposed to many hazards: earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, floods, droughts, typhoons, landslides, forest fires, epidemics and conflict. Of these, hydrometeorological disasters accounted for 70 per cent of disasters from 2000-2010.

Cyclones, droughts, and earthquakes/tsunamis are the deadliest hazards in Indonesia. Every year, the country experiences hundreds of minor earthquakes and between 20-30 tropical cyclones. The 2004 earthquake and tsunami, which hit Indonesia in December, caused approximately 165,000 casualties and caused over 2 billion US dollars in damage.

Floods and landslides are the commonest hazards and affect the most people: an estimated 80 per cent of the population are exposed to these. These hazards lead to deaths, damaged houses and infrastructure, and regularly displace people.

Indonesia has a national disasters database – the Indonesian Disaster Information Data platform – which is hosted by the National Agency for Disaster Management. This contains disaster data, at various levels, for the period 1815-2019. These data have been used to produce risk maps and indices for a variety of applications.

INFORM RISK INDEX (2022)

Hazard and exposure: 6.7  |  Vulnerability: 3.2  |  Lack of coping capacity: 4.5  |  Total: 4.6 (medium)  |  Rank: 57

HAZARDS COVERED BY ANTICIPATION

Flash floods | Riverine floods

ANTICIPATION PARTNERS IN INDONESIA

Indonesian Red Cross (PMI)

IFRC Indonesia 

FAO

PROJECTS

• Anticipatory action for floods in Indonesia is being implemented by Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) and IFRC Indonesia, funded by British Red Cross and Australian Red Cross under the Forecast-based action (FbA) project.
• FAO is supporting early action for flash floods and riverine floods in Indonesia.