Rescuers search for victims at a village hit by a landslide in Batu Goading, North Sumatra (AP photo)
Devastating floods and landslides in Indonesia have left more than 300 people dead, whiles authorities race to reach cut-off regions and rescue those still missing. Emergency personnel on Saturday faced severe challenges accessing areas battered by landslides and flash floods.The head of the national disaster mitigation agency, Suharyanto, told a news conference that devastating floods claimed 166 lives in North Sumatra, 47 in Aceh, and 90 in West Sumatra.Parts of North Sumatra province remained unreachable due to damaged roads and downed communication lines, forcing emergency teams to airlift supplies. Rescue efforts were further slowed by limited access to heavy machinery.North Sumatra police spokesperson Ferry Walintukan confirmed the recovery of 31 more bodies on Saturday, pushing the overall toll to 279. More than 3,500 police officers have been deployed to search for 174 missing people and support relief distribution to over 28,400 evacuees housed in provincial shelters.Days of monsoon downpours caused several rivers to burst their banks, unleashing destructive floods that tore through mountain settlements, inundated homes and displaced thousands.In West Sumatra’s Agam district, around 80 people remained missing across three villages, believed to be trapped beneath deep layers of mud and debris. Heavy equipment was urgently required, and in places like Salareh Aia village, distraught families watched as bodies were pulled from the wreckage.Large piles of timber washed ashore on Air Tawar Beach in West Sumatra prompted public concerns about illegal logging and its possible role in intensifying the disaster.In northern Sumatra’s Aceh province, persistent rain made it difficult to deploy machinery. Search teams—including police, soldiers and local volunteers—were forced to dig manually.“The death toll is believed to be increasing, since many bodies are still missing, while many have not been reached,” said Suharyanto, the head of the government’s disaster relief agency, who, like many Indonesians, uses only one name.Television footage captured rescue workers in an inflatable boat fighting strong currents as they attempted to reach a man clinging to a coconut tree.“There are many challenges,” Aceh Gov. Muzakir Manaf said after declaring a state of emergency through Dec. 11. “We have to do many things soon, but conditions do not allow us to do so.”Flooding in Aceh’s Bireuen district also destroyed two bridges, cutting off travel between Medan and Banda Aceh and forcing villagers to cross rivers by boat.The calamity adds to Indonesia’s long list of recurring natural disasters, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis, stemming from its location along the Pacific Basin’s “Ring of Fire.” Annual monsoon rains routinely trigger floods and landslides across the archipelago’s 17,000 islands, many of which are home to communities living in remote mountains or flood-prone regions.
