Death Toll from Indonesia’s Flood Disaster Surges Past 900 as Search Efforts Intensify
The death toll from catastrophic flooding in Indonesia has risen to more than 900, with hundreds still unaccounted for, officials say.
The devastation follows the formation of a rare and powerful cyclone over the Malaca Strait last week, which unleashed torrential rain and triggered landslides across parts of the country. More than 100,000 homes have been destroyed.
Rescue teams are continuing efforts to reach isolated communities, with aid supplies being airdropped into areas still cut off by washed-out roads and deep mud.
The Indonesian floods are among several extreme weather events to have struck Asia in recent weeks. Combined, storms across Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam have left close to 2,000 people dead.
Villages Swept Away
In Aceh Tamiang, one of the worst-hit districts, survivors described entire communities being swept away by fast-moving waters.
Fitriana, a resident of Lintang Bawah Village, told BBC Indonesian that some families survived only by climbing onto their roofs.
“There were people trapped with their four-year-old children for three days without food or water,” she said.
She estimated that 90% of homes in her village were destroyed, leaving roughly 300 families displaced.
Another survivor said his family had to flee twice — first from their flooded home, and later from a nearby village where rising waters again forced them upstairs to safety.
“We couldn’t go anywhere else because there was no higher ground,” he said.
Rescue Teams Struggle Through Mud and Isolation
Aceh’s governor told AFP that crews were still searching for bodies in “waist-deep” mud.
“Many people need basic necessities,” he said. “Large areas remain untouched in remote regions. People are not dying from the floods, but from starvation.”
Local media reported that inmates at a prison had to be released after floodwaters threatened to engulf the facility, with officials saying they had nowhere else to relocate them.
Road access to Sibolga City and Central Tapanuli remained severed on Sunday, leaving helicopters and boats as the only means of delivering aid. There have also been reports of looting at supermarkets as shortages worsen.
