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View all search resultsPressure mounts on govt to declare national emergency in Sumatra
Pressure is mounting on the central government to declare a national state of emergency after floods and landslides devastate northern and western Sumatra, cutting key transportation networks and leaving local administrations struggling to provide relief.
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A mosque stands after flash floods on Sunday in Meureudu, Pidie Jaya district in Aceh.
(AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
P
ressure is mounting on the central government to declare a national state of emergency after floods and landslides devastated northern and western Sumatra, cutting key transportation networks and leaving local administrations struggling to provide relief.
The rare tropical cyclone Senyar, which formed over the Malacca Strait, made landfall on Wednesday, unleashing intense rainfall and strong winds that set off flash floods and landslides in North Sumatra before sweeping into neighboring Aceh and West Sumatra.
Speaking at a disaster response meeting on Sunday, National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) head Suharyanto said the disaster has impacted over 881,000 people, killing 316 and injuring 638 across the three provinces. Some 289 people also remained missing.
Although the easing of rainfall over the past two days has prevented the situation from worsening, Suharyanto said cut-off transportation routes and downed communication networks continued to isolate pockets of affected communities and complicate disaster relief efforts.
In North Sumatra, residents in the isolated Central Tapanuli regency and Sibolga city looted minimarkets and a State Logistics Agency (Bulog) warehouse on Saturday afternoon. A resident told The Jakarta Post that the absence of information on when aid would arrive had driven people to steal basic necessities.
In Aceh, the main route connecting the province with North Sumatra remains severed, as was the transport corridor from provincial capital Banda Aceh to Lhokseumawe City.
West Sumatra, meanwhile, has surpassed Aceh in fatalities, but land access has successfully been restored to all seven affected cities and regencies in the province.
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