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View all search resultsIndonesia begins clean-up after massive floods kill hundreds
Heavy monsoon rain overwhelmed swaths of the three countries this week and left thousands stranded, many on rooftops awaiting rescue.
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People walk on a mud-covered road following flash floods in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya district in Aceh province on November 29, 2025. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
T
he death toll from devastating floods and landslides in Southeast Asia climbed past 400 on Saturday as clean-up and search-and-rescue operations got underway in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.
Heavy monsoon rain overwhelmed swaths of the three countries this week and left thousands stranded, many on rooftops awaiting rescue.
Rescuers in Indonesia were struggling to reach the worst-affected areas of Sumatra island, where more than 270 people were still missing.
Flooding and landslides in Indonesia have killed more than 300 people, according to the latest figures from the disaster authority on Saturday.
Of those, 166 were in North Sumatra province, 90 were in West Sumatra, and 47 were in Aceh.
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated, although access to many parts of those three provinces remains cut off, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency head Suharyanto said.
He told a news conference that a cloud seeding operation had begun in West Sumatra to reduce the rainfall, most of which had already subsided by Saturday.
Responders have used helicopters to deliver aid and for logistics in the northern part of Sumatra, which was the hardest hit with roads cut off and communications infrastructure destroyed by landslides.
"We are trying to open the route from North Tapanuli to Sibolga (in North Sumatra province), which is the most severely cut off for a third day," he said.
He added that rescue forces were trying to break through a road blockage caused by a landslide, and that people were trapped on a stretch of road and in need of supplies. The military presence will be enhanced on Sunday to help with relief efforts, he said.
There were attempts by those affected by the rain to ransack supplies in the Central Tapanuli area, which was badly affected, he further added.
Novia, a resident of Pidie in Aceh, said the water in his house had receded "but the entire place is covered in mud".
"Some of the items in the house are damaged or have fallen, and we haven't been able to clean them yet.
"We, the community, are working together to clean up the mud," the 30-year-old told AFP.
Firda Yusra said he left his home with his wife and child to take shelter in a nearby mosque with around a thousand others.
"Here, we eat whatever is available," he said.
The annual monsoon season, typically between June and September, often brings heavy rain, triggering landslides and flash floods.
A tropical storm has exacerbated conditions, and the tolls in Indonesia and Thailand rank among the highest in floods in those countries in recent years.
Climate change has affected storm patterns, including the duration and intensity of the season, leading to heavier rainfall, flash flooding and stronger wind gusts.
"Since I was a child until now at 30 years old, this is the worst flood that has ever occurred in our village," said Novia in Aceh.
"There were floods before... but it wasn't like this."
