JAKARTA, Dec 13 — Torrential rains and landslides in northern Indonesia have killed at least 1,003 people and displaced more than 1.2 million residents, officials said Saturday, as search-and-rescue teams continue to locate survivors across the hard-hit island of Sumatra.
The disaster, unfolding over the past two weeks, has also injured more than 5,400 people and left 218 missing, according to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency. Authorities cautioned that the death toll could increase as access improves to remote areas previously cut off by flooding.
Heavy rainfall inundated large swathes of North Sumatra, West Sumatra and Aceh provinces, triggering landslides that buried homes and swept away roads, bridges, and farmland. Overcrowded temporary shelters struggle to provide food, water, and medical aid to displaced families.
President Prabowo Subianto visited Langkat district in North Sumatra on Saturday, assuring citizens that relief efforts are underway. “Here and there, due to natural and physical conditions, there have been slight delays,” he said. “But I checked all the evacuation sites: their conditions are good, services are adequate, and food supplies are sufficient.”
Rescue teams face challenges due to damaged infrastructure and ongoing rainfall, which has slowed aid delivery. The floods are among the deadliest in Sumatra in recent years, drawing comparisons to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed more than 170,000 people in Aceh alone.
