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View all search resultsDeath toll from Sumatra floods rises to 442
The death toll surged 435 on Sunday, up from 303 on Saturday, official data uploaded on a government website showed, as officials compiled reports of casualties and damage pouring in from the western island of Sumatra, where three provinces had been devastated by landslides and floods after the rains.
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An aerial view shows flood damage to a school in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya district in Aceh province on November 30, 2025. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyudin)
T
he death toll from floods and landslides following cyclonic rains in Sumatra has risen to 442, official data on a government website showed on Sunday.
The death toll surged 442 on Sunday, up from 303 on Saturday, official data uploaded on a government website showed, as officials compiled reports of casualties and damage pouring in from the western island of Sumatra, where three provinces had been devastated by landslides and floods after the rains.
Many areas were cut off due to blocked roads, while damage to telecommunications infrastructure has hampered communication. Relief and rescue teams used helicopters to deliver aid to people in areas that could not be reached by road.
From a navy chopper flying over the isolated town of Palembayan in West Sumatra, a Reuters photographer saw large tracts of land and homes swept away by floodwaters. As the helicopter landed in a soccer field, dozens of people were already standing close by waiting for food.
There have been reports of people looting supply lines as they grow desperate for relief in other areas, officials said on Saturday.
"The water just rose up into the house and we were afraid, so we fled. Then we came back on Friday, and the house was gone, destroyed," Afrianti, 41, told Reuters in West Sumatra's Padang city.
She and her family of nine have made their own tent shelter beside the single wall that remains of their home.
"My home and business are gone, the shop is gone. Nothing remains. I can only live near this one remaining wall," she said.
According to official figures, 406 people were still reported missing and 213,000 displaced.
At least two cities on Sumatra island were still unreachable on Sunday, and authorities said they had deployed two warships from Jakarta to deliver aid.
"There are two cities that require full attention due to being isolated, namely Central Tapanuli and Sibolga," the National Disaster Mitigation Agency head Suharyanto said in a statement. The ships were expected in Sibolga on Monday, he said.
In Sungai Nyalo village, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from West Sumatra's capital Padang, floodwaters had mostly receded on Sunday, leaving homes, vehicles and crops coated in thick grey mud.
Authorities had not yet begun clearing roads, residents told AFP, and no outside assistance had arrived.
"Most villagers chose to stay; they didn't want to leave their houses behind," said Idris, 55.
Across the island towards the north coast, an endangered Sumatran elephant lay buried in thick mud and debris near damaged buildings in Meureudu town.
