Indonesia floods leave 442 dead as rescuers race to reach cut-off Sumatra villages

The death toll from the devastating floods and landslides sweeping across Indonesia has climbed to 442, the national disaster agency reported on Sunday. Another 402 people remain missing as rescuers battle to reach isolated corners of Sumatra, where entire communities have been cut off and thousands wait in dwindling conditions for food, water, and medical aid.

At least 646 people have suffered injuries as the scale of the catastrophe continues to unfold.

Residents recount fear as homes collapse

In Aceh province, where at least 54 people have died and nearly 50,000 families have been displaced, residents are facing extensive destruction. Fitriati, a 40 year old woman, surveyed the damage caused by days of heavy monsoon rain and said the flooding had never been as severe.

She was asleep when water surged from a nearby river on Wednesday night, prompting her to wake her family and flee. Her home is now tilted, filled with mud nearly reaching the roof, and cracked along its walls. She said earlier floods had been chest deep and cleared within a day without causing fatalities or destroying homes. She added that she had no tears left and hoped for help so her family would not go hungry.

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For some residents, the disaster has revived memories of the 2004 tsunami that killed more than 170,000 people in Aceh. Maulidin, a 41 year old from North Aceh, said he felt the same fear and had focused only on finding a way to evacuate.

West Sumatra villages cut off as aid efforts expand

In West Sumatra province, where at least 90 deaths have been reported, Afrianti Usnia cleared mud from her damaged home. She fled with only a few clothes for her baby before water swept through, which she described as arriving like a large wave. She said her family had often been affected by floods but never received assistance from the government, and hoped for fairness in the response.

Authorities have carried out a weather modification operation to divert rain and have deployed planes and warships to deliver aid. However, widespread destruction has left access and communication severed in many areas. Aceh governor Muzakir Manaf said conditions remained critical, with some villages still trapped and unreachable, describing the situation as resembling a second tsunami.