Severe flash floods and landslides in Indonesia’s Sumatra region have caused massive loss of life and displacement, with the National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) confirming on Saturday that 303 people have died and 279 are still missing. Torrential monsoon rains triggered sudden surges of water and mud that swept through multiple districts, submerging whole neighbourhoods, destroying homes, and cutting off access to remote communities.
North Sumatra has recorded the highest casualties, with 166 deaths and 143 people unaccounted for. West Sumatra reported 90 deaths and 85 missing, while Aceh recorded 47 fatalities and 51 missing. Tens of thousands of residents have been forced to flee to emergency shelters as efforts continue to locate stranded survivors.
BNPB Chief Suharyanto chaired a coordination meeting with deployed units across the three most affected provinces and instructed teams to ramp up their efforts as rainfall intensity begins to ease. Authorities are prioritising three immediate needs: search and rescue to find those still missing, restoring damaged communications networks, and speeding up the distribution of relief supplies — including food, medicine, blankets, and clean water — to affected communities.
Rescue operations remain difficult due to damaged roads, collapsed bridges, and debris-filled terrain, but air and ground teams are being mobilised to reach isolated areas. Essential services such as electricity, clean water, and healthcare are still disrupted in many districts, and officials warn that the death toll may continue to rise as search teams expand their reach.
