 "This aerial picture shows a truck and a car trapped in muds from flash floods on a main road connecting Aceh and North Sumatra in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya district Indonesia's Aceh province on November 28, 2025. Image- AFP")
The death toll from floods and landslides on Indonesia’s western island of Sumatra has climbed to 174, a disaster official said on Friday, with around 80 people still unaccounted for.
Torrential monsoon rains caused rivers in North Sumatra province to overflow on Tuesday, sending water surging through mountainside villages, sweeping people away and inundating more than 3,200 homes and buildings, according to the National Disaster Management Agency. Around 3,000 displaced families have taken refuge in government shelters.
Fatalities in North Sumatra have risen to 116, while 25 people have been confirmed dead in Aceh. Rescuers have also recovered 23 bodies in West Sumatra, National Disaster Mitigation Agency chief Suharyanto said.
Across parts of Aceh and West Sumatra provinces, thousands of homes were flooded — many submerged up to their roofs, the agency added.
West Sumatra’s disaster mitigation agency reported the flooding submerged more than 17,000 homes, forcing about 23,000 residents to flee to temporary shelters. Rice fields, livestock and public facilities were also destroyed and bridges and roads cut off by floods and landslides isolated residents.
In Aceh province, authorities struggled to bring excavators and other heavy equipment over washed-out roads after torrential rains sent mud and rocks crashing onto hilly hamlets.
Quick Reads
View AllThe extreme weather was driven by tropical cyclone Senyar, which formed in the Strait of Malacca, said Achadi Subarkah Raharjo at Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency.
He warned that unstable atmospheric conditions mean extreme weather could persist as long as the cyclone system remains active.
“We have extended its extreme weather warning due to strong water vapor supply and shifting atmospheric dynamics,” Raharjo said.
Senyar intensified rainfall, strong winds, and high waves in Aceh, North Sumatra, West Sumatra, Riau, and nearby areas before dissipating. Its prolonged downpours left steep, saturated terrain highly vulnerable to disasters, he said.
Seasonal rains frequently cause flooding and landslides in Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.
With inputs from agencies