October 2010: Wasior, a remote area in the Indonesian province of West Papua, is flooded. 8,000 out of roughly  12,000 inhabitants are affected, 150 people lose their lives and about 1,000 houses are completely destroyed. The water is standing three metres high; mud and debris bury 70 per cent of all houses. Today, up to 4,000 people are still living in emergency shelters that were built by the authorities shortly after the disaster.

In spite of the recent situation  and similar experiences made in the past, the people living in Wasior are not prepared for disasters. Most of them are not aware that it takes only little effort to save  many lives as well as livelihoods. Malteser International works with its Indonesian partner organisation YEU (YAKKUM Emergency Unit) to generate awareness of disaster preparedness among the people of Wasior, and trains them to respond adequately to emergencies, integrating the experiences made during past floods. In the long term, local committees will take over the disaster management.