Coastal Hazards - Indonesia (week 13)

Being that Indonesia is made up of 17,508 islands, is located on the ring of fire, much of the islands are on very soft marsh-like land, and there is unrestricted underground water pumping, it is subject to many coastal hazards; in fact it experiences almost all of them since it has so much coastline. With there being over 54,000 km, Indonesia is second only to Canada in highest amount of coastline. The country experiences rising sea levels and sinking cities (Jakarta being the fastest sinking city in the world), earthquakes, flooding, tsunamis, flooding, storm surges, erosion and pollution due to loose regulations. In Indonesia coastal hazards have become a normal way of life and are not perceived as severe risks. Indonesians understand this risk; they have opted to find ways to accommodate rather than retreat to higher more stable ground or seek permanent government protection. While efforts are in place to detect tsunamis, earthquakes, and mitigate rising sea levels (e.g. Giant Sea Wall Jakarta project), there are not strict regulations regarding pollution, infrastructure safety or underground water extraction for both private homes and corporations, which contributes to Jakarta's sinking, pollution and flooding. Unfortunately since the country has so much coastline, and being a developing country with so many small islands I don't think there is much that the government can to do mitigate coastal hazards without completely exhausting their resources. That is why so many Indonesians have adapted to the situation. The Giant Sea Wall project in North Jakarta will help the rising sea levels but it cannot stop it completely, and by 2050 over 90% of the area is projected to be underwater. It is still difficult to enforce strict building codes that can withstand coastal hazards such as tsunamis and flooding because many Indonesians find the construction expensive. It can also be difficult to distribute medical aid to those in need when disaster occurs. 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212420919301025