Adianto P. Simamora, Jakarta – The odor of mud from a recent flood suffocates the air in Endang's home on the riverbank, where she and her four children have lived for 10 years.

Over the years, the family living by Ciliwung riverbank in East Jakarta have grown accustomed to floods and their unpleasant aftermath because they have little choice; Endang said her domestic worker's income prevented her from living elsewhere. "My situation has forced me to live here," she said.

When the flood reaches 3 meters high, the family build a tent on a nearby, dry sidewalk for shelter.

Millions of families in Indonesia are reported to live on riverbanks and around coastal areas, which are susceptible to frequent floods. A recent study by the Singapore-based Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA) showed that many households lack the financial resources to carry out adaptation measures.

The study looked at a case of adaptive measures of residents in coastal Muara Baru, North Jakarta, where residents were often besieged by tidal floods from the rising river. It found that the government's response to disaster relief was limited, failing to promote preventive programs to avert flood disasters.

The 2010 study covered five countries: Indonesia, China, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand.

Lead researcher Armi Susandi from Bandung Technology Institute said that poverty played a large role in the low adaptive capacity of communities in Muara Baru.

Poverty also contributed to the neglect of communities; the disadvantaged were provided with little support and resources to cope with the recurring floods, he went on. The study found that most people were also reluctant to move because they believed it would be difficult to secure another job elsewhere.

"Most populations prone to floods are not prepared for [them]. This happens in all provinces in Indonesia," he said.

Sixty percent of disasters in Indonesia are water related such as flooding. Seventy percent of cities in Indonesia and 80 percent of industrial areas are located along the coastal areas making them vulnerable to the floods due to the rising sea level.

The EEPSEA study proposed several adaptation measures such as building a community shelter, relocating communities at risk to safer places and providing emergency-response equipment such as lifebuoys, life vests, medical kits and medicine.