The lives of the people of Tembulsloko have been drastically altered by rising sea levels and coastal erosion.
Solkan, an Indonesian teacher, relayed images of the small mosque surrounded by the sea, reminiscent of the marching band and smiling children just graduating from kindergarten, now standing on a road flooded with wet green water.
This is one of many signs in the town of Tembulsloko on the Java coast, that residents have been forced to live a new life in water due to high tide.
More than 200 people drowned in the fastest shipwreck in Indonesian history, showing how climate change is affecting coastal communities everywhere.
"It's just a memory now... There are no activities like this," said Solkan, 49, who like many Indonesians uses just one name.
"Why? Because the place was already flooded."
The lives of the people of Tempulseluku have changed dramatically as rising sea levels, coastal erosion and over-extraction of groundwater have caused the land to recede.
In the 1990s, the coast became prone to flooding after the mangroves were removed to make way for fishing boats.
Waters have risen five kilometers (three miles) around Tembulsloko and the surrounding Demak region, said Professor Denny Nugroho Sugianto of Daiponegoro University.
Data shows some areas around Tempulseloko are sinking at a rate of up to 20 centimeters a year, double the rate recorded in 2010, calling it a "slow disaster".
He said it was the highest land grant amount ever recorded in the area.
"There is no future."
Large parts of the capital, Jakarta, are expected to flood for the same reasons by 2050, but cities along the Java coast are on the front line, researchers say.
Solkan Azideh was forced to move the children from an old wooden building next to his house to a higher place to prevent them from disappearing.
As the risk of flooding increased, residents raised the floors of their homes by adding dirt and installing hardwood floors.
This reduced the space, forcing them to stand low enough to prevent anyone entering from bumping their heads.
Solarso, 54, has raised the floor three times since 2018, spending a total of 1.5 million at a cost of 22 million rupees ($1,460).
"I have no future," the fisherman told AFP.
This town... will be gone in less than five years; We cannot build. We can not do anything with it.
He said he feared the high tide would destroy the house as the land could still be under water at high tide.
Al Khuwairiya, a 42-year-old housewife, said she was struggling to shop or take her three children to school due to flooding in the streets.
"Life is tough right now. Every time the water comes into my house, I always wish I could get out," she said.
But as climate change progresses, the problem is only getting worse.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said that a rise of 2°C above pre-industrial levels could cause sea levels to rise by 43cm over the next century.
- Resurrection of the dead -
Not only are they alive, but they are also protected from the sea.
The village cemetery was built to prevent drowning and the villagers installed wooden fences, nets and frames to prevent water damage.
Residents are fighting to build a footbridge to connect their homes and reach the graves of their loved ones.
The younger generations of Tembulsluko spend most of their time away from home, fleeing the floods that afflict their daily lives.
"Life here is the same," said Coral Al-Tamimi, 24. Young people often leave because they hate being indoors.
Al-Tamimi said that before the boats were used in the city, she dressed and walked through the flood.
"When I come home from work, I go really crazy because not only am I tired, but I'm wet," he said.
He asked Sugianto to extend piped water supply to residents and build a sand bed to replace water erosion to reduce groundwater use.
"If we don't restore the original coastline, we won't be able to solve this problem in a sustainable way," said the professor.
However, those who remain in Tembulsluko refuse to surrender to the elements.
Solkan insists he will stay to open the kindergarten and teach the children who once stood on the now flooded road.
"As long as there are still neighbors, there are still houses, I'm staying here," he said.
(Except for the title, this story was unedited by NDTV staff and was posted from a syndicated feed.)
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