Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Timbulsloko village, Aerial view of a young woman riding a motorbike on the new government-built road leading to the isolated, sinking village of Timbulsloko. Over the past decade, tidal waters have completely submerged the village. Once a fertile agricultural area, the land is no longer visible.

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Timbulsloko village,   Many buildings are already submerged due to rising sea levels. Sumanti, 60, came to check his uninhabitable, flooded house. Those who still live in the village are trapped because they lack the money to move.

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Sene Rejosari village near Bedono, Marian, 60, looks around her flooded home. What was originally a fertile agricultural area is now a water world. Of the 200 families, they are the last in this village.

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Timbulsloko village,   At low tide, a local searches for seashells. People have had to adapt to a new life in this sinking village. A network of interlocking boardwalks connects both sides of the main street.

Indonesia, Java, Bedono,

Rohani and his wife Marian, are the last of 200 families in the village of Sene Rejosari, near Bedono and they do not want to leave. In 2000, the water was 3 km away from their house.

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Timbulsloko village,   Bowo, 21, refuses to surrender to the elements and does not want to leave. He waters the plants in front of his home and has elevated the floors with wooden beams to stay dry as the floods intensify.

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Timbulsloko village,   Aerial view of the sinking village of Timbulsloko. The cemetery has been elevated to prevent it from being submerged, and the villagers have installed a wooden fence, nets, and used tires for added protection against rising sea levels. A boardwalk connects their homes to their relatives' graves. Water has now reached five kilometers inland around Timbulsloko, which is sinking up to 20 centimeters annually.

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Timbulsloko village,   A local has built an elevated wooden deck next to his house to store his fishing gear. Since 1995, rising sea levels and coastal erosion have drastically altered the lives of Timbulsloko residents, forcing them to adapt to life on the water, with many switching to fishing. Those remaining in the village are trapped and cannot afford to relocate.

Indonesia, Java, Jeruksari,   Kasniati, (38), stands next to her floating mattress while her son Askaia Maoulana, (11 ), sleeps in an elevated, safer space in the house. When the water recedes, they will resume their normal life at home.

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Jeruksari near Pekalongan,   Daily life on a small inundated street full of algae in Jeruksari. A street vendor installs his cart next to a grocery store.

Indonesia, Java, Jeruksari, 
Khalima’s daughter-in-law (25) is standing in the water, holding her 4-month-old baby while her husband is sleeping. Other members of the family live in the back of the inundated house.

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Timbulsloko village,   In the submerged village of Timbulsloko, a man walks past a street light on a network of interlocking boardwalks that connects every house on one side of the street to the other.

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Jeruksari near Pekalongan,   Ninou, 40 years old, stands in a mixture of sea, rainwater, and algae in her flooded house. Four days ago, a protective sea wall collapsed a few kms away. When the government repairs the wall, the water will recede. 

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Wonokerto,     A father and son navigate through a newly planted mangrove. After mangroves were destroyed to make way for fish farms, the government decided to plant 1,000 new trees in order to strengthen the coastal area and protect the population against tidal waves and rising sea levels. The government also built wave breakers to protect mangrove ecosystems.

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Degayu A group of students take a break next to concrete tetra pods placed along the shoreline to prevent coastal erosion. In the background, the 6-meter-high cement wall that protects the area from rising sea levels, is visible.

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Jeruksari near Pekalongan,   Residents have elevated the floors of their houses by adding soil and pouring concrete slabs to keep themselves dry as the floods intensify.

Indonesia, Java, Jeruksari,   Khalima, 50 years old, is sitting in her living room. She says that the worst floods occur in January and February due to a combination of heavy rains and tidal flooding.

Indonesia, Java, Jeruksari,   At night, Ninou, 40 years old, stands in a mixture of sea, rainwater, and algae, outside her flooded house. Four days ago, a protective sea wall collapsed a few kms away.  

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Jeruksari near Pekalongan   Mutiari, 4 years old, plays with a friend in the flooded streets of Jeruksari.  

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Jeruksari near Pekalongan

Umaya (45) is a seamstress. She is used to taking a nap with the doors and windows wide open. Sometimes a neighbor comes to visit. Her house has been flooded for a week.

Indonesia, Java, Jeruksari,

Wariti (65) runs a restaurant alone since her husband died. She is playing with the water, swirling her yellow boots in the algae and making a hole; perhaps symptomatic of her situation.

Indonesia, Java, Timbulsloko, Two men (Ikbal in front and Ifan both 16 years old and both born here) survey the disaster standing on a section of the interlocking boardwalk that connects every house.

Indonesia, Central Java province, Demak regency, Timbulsloko Village,

Two men walk arm in arm on the boardwalk, past wooden figurines, reminiscent of Javanese traditional puppets on the right, illustrating the resilience and determination of the local population.