Floods in Indonesia wreak havoc on Sumatra, with 442 dead, over a million affected

By Berk Kutay Gokmen

ISTANBUL (AA) – Severe floods and landslides continued to wreak havoc on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, killing 442 people and affecting over a million people as of Sunday, data from the National Disaster Management Agency showed.

According to the agency website, a total of 442 people died across three provinces – North Sumatra, Aceh, and West Sumatra – while search operations continue for 402 others who remain missing.

The data also showed that 646 were injured, while 1.1 million people were affected, hundreds of houses were damaged, and more than 290,000 were displaced by the floods.

Lt. Gen. TNI Suharyanto, the disaster agency head, said on Sunday that a number of roads are still cut off due to floods and landslides, according to Kompas TV.

Disaster response efforts are entering their fifth day, with search operations still being slowed by difficult terrain, damaged access roads, and harsh weather conditions.

Many affected areas remain unreachable, and search teams are working both on the ground and from the air, but the challenging terrain is limiting the use of heavy machinery.