Indonesia faces massive humanitarian crisis with 3.2 million affected by floods and landslides
Approximately 3.2 million people on Sumatra island have been affected, 2,600 have been injured, and 504 are missing.
The number of people killed by floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island increased to 708 on Tuesday, according to the country’s disaster agency, with 504 people missing.
The toll showed a significant rise from the 604 dead reported by the agency on Monday.
Heavy monsoon rains and tropical cyclones have caused devastation in parts of Asia this week, including Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and southern Thailand, resulting in over 1,300 deaths across the region, destroying infrastructure, and flooding towns.
About 3.2 million people have been affected and 2,600 injured in Indonesia alone. A million people have been evacuated from high-risk areas. Previously, it was reported that 753 people had died, but the number was corrected to 708 on Tuesday evening.
Aid workers and response teams are urgently trying to reach survivors, but their efforts have been hindered by blocked roads and damaged bridges. Some areas, including Tapanuli Tengah in North Sumatra and Agam in Aceh, were inaccessible by road, according to UNICEF.
In Aceh, one of the areas most severely affected, markets are running out of rice, vegetables, and other essentials, with prices tripling, as reported by Islamic Relief, which is delivering 12 tonnes of emergency food aid. “Communities across Aceh are at severe risk of food shortages and hunger if supply lines are not re-established in the next seven days,” the charity stated.
The Indonesian government announced on Monday that it was sending 34,000 tonnes of rice and 6.8 million liters of cooking oil to Aceh, as well as to the provinces of North Sumatra and West Sumatra.
The World Health Organization announced it was sending rapid response teams and critical supplies to the region and enhancing disease surveillance.
The WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, informed reporters in Geneva that it was “another reminder of how climate change is driving more frequent and more extreme weather events, with disastrous effects.”
Survivors, many of whom are residing in evacuation shelters, have described how swiftly the powerful currents of water arrived, submerging villages. “We didn’t think we would survive that night because the situation was so chaotic. Everyone was thinking about saving themselves. There was no prior warning whatsoever before the water came,” said Gahitsa Zahira Cahyani, 17, a student at an Islamic boarding school. Hundreds of students from the school fled into the night to find safety, with some clinging to trees and the mosque’s roof.
The season’s monsoons often bring heavy rains that can trigger landslides and floods, but this year’s downpours were compounded by a rare tropical storm that formed in the Malacca Strait, devastating parts of Sumatra and southern Thailand, where 181 people were killed.
Sri Lanka has also experienced catastrophic flooding and landslides, caused by a separate storm, Cyclone Ditwah. It has resulted in 410 deaths, while another 336 remain missing.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has declared a state of emergency to address what he described as the “most challenging natural disaster in our history.”
Rainfall has lessened across the country, but landslide alerts remain in effect across most of the hardest-hit central region, officials stated.
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