Indonesia Flood Death Toll Passes 1,000 As Authorities Increase Aid
The National Disaster Mitigation Agency says the disaster, which has hit the northwestern island of Sumatra over the past fortnight, has also injured more than 5,400 people.
Devastating floods and landslides have killed 1,006 people in Indonesia, rescuers said Saturday, as the Southeast Asian nation grapples with the huge scale of relief efforts.
Residents queue to receive basic food supplies and drinking water at a logistics post built by residents to accommodate incoming aid, in Lintang Bawah village in Aceh Tamiang, Northern Sumatra, on December 11, 2025. Photo by ADITYA AJI / AFP
The disaster, which has hit the northwestern island of Sumatra over the past fortnight, has also injured more than 5,400, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said.
A man walks past a damaged house in the aftermath of landslides in Passara on December 13, 2025. Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP
The deadly torrential rains are one of the worst recent disasters to strike Sumatra, where a tsunami wreaked havoc in 2004 in the northern tip of the island.
Soldiers and volunteers sort relief supplies inside a warehouse to be delivered to flood-affected areas in North Sumatra and Aceh, at Soewondo Air Base in Medan, North Sumatra, on December 12, 2025. Photo by YT HARIONO / AFP
The final toll is expected to rise, with the disaster agency’s spokesman Abdul Muhari saying 217 people are still missing and that authorities were ramping up aid to the worst-affected areas.
Police conduct a mass burial of unidentified flood victims, mostly children and teenagers who had been kept at a hospital for nearly two weeks, at the Bungus Public Cemetery in Padang, West Sumatra, on December 10, 2025. (Photo by Rezan Soleh / AFP)
With vast tracts of territory destroyed by rain, mud, and felled trees, 1.2 million residents have been forced to take refuge in temporary shelters.
“Most of the houses here are gone, destroyed to the ground,” said 50-year-old Sri Lestari, who is living in a tent with her three children in Aceh Tamiang district.
A worker removes mud accumulated around buses near a landslide-affected area in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, in Maspanna on December 13, 2025. Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA / AFP
Their home was on the brink of collapse, after being pummelled by tree trunks carried by floodwater.
“Look at our house… how can we fix it?” her 55-year-old husband, Tarmiji, said.
Frustration Grows
Frustration has been growing among flood victims, who have complained about the pace of relief efforts.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (R) meets displaced people who lost their homes in recent flooding at an evacuation center in Aceh Tamiang, North Sumatra, on December 12, 2025. Photo by ADITYA AJI / AFP
Indonesian military personnel move sacks of rice to load them onto an aircraft as part of relief supplies to be delivered to flood-affected areas in North Sumatra and Aceh, at Soewondo Air Base in Medan, North Sumatra, on December 12, 2025. Photo by YT HARIONO / AFP
President Prabowo Subianto said Saturday the situation has improved, with several areas that had been cut off now accessible.
“Here and there, due to natural and physical conditions, there have been slight delays, but I checked all the evacuation sites: their conditions are good, services for them are adequate, and food supplies are sufficient,” Prabowo said after visiting Langkat in North Sumatra province.
An aerial view shows vast remains of uprooted trees at the Darul Mukhlisin Islamic boarding school and mosque in the aftermath of flash floods at Aceh Tamiang in Northern Sumatra on December 10, 2025. (Photo by Aditya Aji / AFP)
On the main road that passes through Aceh Tamiang, AFP journalists saw a long line of trucks and private cars distributing food, water, and other supplies.
Many of the residents in nearby towns were camping outside in temporary structures, their homes filled with mud.
Boats used to ferry passengers across the Peusangan river are seen past a collapsed bridge in Kuta Blang, Bireuen district in Indonesia’s Aceh province on December 9, 2025, in the aftermath of regional flash floods that killed hundreds. Photo by CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN / AFP
The disaster management agency’s spokesman said more than 11.7 tonnes of aid had been delivered to Sumatra by sea, land, and air on Saturday and that authorities were starting construction on temporary shelters for displaced residents.
Bottled water is seen before being loaded onto an aircraft to be delivered to flood-affected areas in North Sumatra and Aceh, at Soewondo Air Base in Medan, North Sumatra, on December 12, 2025. Photo by YT HARIONO / AFP
Costs to rebuild after the disaster could reach 51.82 trillion rupiah ($3.1 billion) and the Indonesian government has so far shrugged off suggestions that it call for international assistance.
Indonesia’s meteorological agency warned that severe weather is expected to continue, particularly heavy rainfall on Sumatra.
