Indonesia’s disaster agency on Saturday reported a rise in the death toll from floods and landslides on the island of Sumatra, saying at least 883 people had been confirmed dead while more than 500 were missing.
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said the figures covered three provinces – Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra – which had been hit by days of intense rainfall that triggered overflowing rivers, landslides and severe damage to transport infrastructure.
The agency said 520 people were still unaccounted for and around 4,200 had been injured.
A chain of tropical storms and monsoonal rains has pummelled Southeast and South Asia in recent days, triggering landslides and flash floods from the Sumatran rainforest to the highland plantations of Sri Lanka.
Some 1,770 people have been killed in natural disasters unfolding across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam since last week.
In Indonesia, Aceh province recorded the highest number of fatalities, with 345 deaths and 174 people listed as missing. BNPB said many of the injured were from rural districts on steep terrain prone to landslides.
In North Sumatra, officials confirmed 312 deaths and 133 missing, while West Sumatra reported 226 fatalities and 213 missing.
The agency warned that the number of victims could rise further as rescue teams reached isolated areas.
Some 1,770 people have been killed in natural disasters unfolding across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam since last week.
In Indonesia, Aceh province recorded the highest number of fatalities, with 345 deaths and 174 people listed as missing. BNPB said many of the injured were from rural districts on steep terrain prone to landslides.
In North Sumatra, officials confirmed 312 deaths and 133 missing, while West Sumatra reported 226 fatalities and 213 missing.
The agency warned that the number of victims could rise further as rescue teams reached isolated areas.
Indonesia’s national weather agency said rain could return on Saturday to the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra. Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf said response teams were still searching for bodies in “waist-deep” mud.
However, starvation was one of the gravest threats now hanging over remote and inaccessible villages.
“Many people need basic necessities. Many areas remain untouched in the remote areas of Aceh,” he told reporters. “People are not dying from the flood, but from starvation. That’s how it is.”
Entire villages had been washed away in the rainforest-cloaked Aceh Tamiang region, Muzakir said.
“The Aceh Tamiang region is completely destroyed, from the top to the bottom, down to the roads and down to the sea,” he said. “Many villages and subdistricts are now just names.”
Aceh resident Munawar Liza Zainal said he felt “betrayed” by the Indonesian government, which had so far shrugged off pressure to declare a national disaster.
“This is an extraordinary disaster that must be faced with extraordinary measures,” he said, echoing frustrations voiced by other flood victims. “If national disaster status is only declared later, what’s the point?”
Declaring a national disaster would free up resources and help government agencies coordinate their response.
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) said the figures covered three provinces – Aceh, North Sumatra and West Sumatra – which had been hit by days of intense rainfall that triggered overflowing rivers, landslides and severe damage to transport infrastructure.
The agency said 520 people were still unaccounted for and around 4,200 had been injured.
A chain of tropical storms and monsoonal rains has pummelled Southeast and South Asia in recent days, triggering landslides and flash floods from the Sumatran rainforest to the highland plantations of Sri Lanka.
Some 1,770 people have been killed in natural disasters unfolding across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam since last week.
In Indonesia, Aceh province recorded the highest number of fatalities, with 345 deaths and 174 people listed as missing. BNPB said many of the injured were from rural districts on steep terrain prone to landslides.
In North Sumatra, officials confirmed 312 deaths and 133 missing, while West Sumatra reported 226 fatalities and 213 missing.
The agency warned that the number of victims could rise further as rescue teams reached isolated areas.
Some 1,770 people have been killed in natural disasters unfolding across Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam since last week.
In Indonesia, Aceh province recorded the highest number of fatalities, with 345 deaths and 174 people listed as missing. BNPB said many of the injured were from rural districts on steep terrain prone to landslides.
In North Sumatra, officials confirmed 312 deaths and 133 missing, while West Sumatra reported 226 fatalities and 213 missing.
The agency warned that the number of victims could rise further as rescue teams reached isolated areas.
Indonesia’s national weather agency said rain could return on Saturday to the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra. Aceh Governor Muzakir Manaf said response teams were still searching for bodies in “waist-deep” mud.
However, starvation was one of the gravest threats now hanging over remote and inaccessible villages.
“Many people need basic necessities. Many areas remain untouched in the remote areas of Aceh,” he told reporters. “People are not dying from the flood, but from starvation. That’s how it is.”
Entire villages had been washed away in the rainforest-cloaked Aceh Tamiang region, Muzakir said.
“The Aceh Tamiang region is completely destroyed, from the top to the bottom, down to the roads and down to the sea,” he said. “Many villages and subdistricts are now just names.”
Aceh resident Munawar Liza Zainal said he felt “betrayed” by the Indonesian government, which had so far shrugged off pressure to declare a national disaster.
“This is an extraordinary disaster that must be faced with extraordinary measures,” he said, echoing frustrations voiced by other flood victims. “If national disaster status is only declared later, what’s the point?”
Declaring a national disaster would free up resources and help government agencies coordinate their response.
