Disaster READY Timor-Leste

In Timor-Leste, AHP NGOs participating in the Disaster READY program include CARE Australia, Oxfam Australia, Plan International Australia, World Vision Australia and CAN DO, along with their local partners.

Disaster risk in Timor-Leste 

One of Australia’s closest neighbours, Timor-Leste is a small and mountainous country with a population of 1.3 million people. Flooding is the most frequent disaster impacting Timor-Leste, and the country is ranked 16 on the 2021 World Risk Index. Communities are particularly vulnerable to flash-flooding caused by monsoonal rains. Subsequent landslides and erosion are only enhanced by the country’s steep topography and widespread deforestation.

Climate change is already impacting the people of Timor-Leste, and climatologists predicting the weather in Timor-Leste will become hotter and drier, leading to harsher and more drawn-out drought conditions, causing heavier and more erratic rainfall, and increasing flooding and landslide hazards. Disaster risk reduction (DRR), disaster preparedness and response are recognised as important by the Government of Timor-Leste.

Timor-Leste program overview 

In Timor-Leste, Disaster READY partners recognise the unique disaster risks and subsequent hazards communities face, and work to implement inclusive community-based disaster risk management. Teams ensure that people living with disabilities, women and children are involved in disaster planning and that their different needs are being met. Activities include community-based hazard mapping, the development of action plans, analysing local knowledge and data on weather predictions and support for local early warning systems, and resilience-strengthening through infrastructure upgrades, such as improving and securing water supplies. Female representation has increased in village and municipal disaster management committees and emergency preparedness training provided for schools, local health services, churches, and community disaster management centres. Activities are designed and implemented to increase local resilience to hazards in Timor-Leste, such as drought and floods, with particular focus on health and livelihoods.