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View all search resultsSumatra flood toll hits 631, one million in shelters
Government agencies and aid groups are rushing to get aid to those affected, while rescuers search for 472 people still listed as missing.
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This handout satellite image by Vantor received on December 2, 2025 shows a view of flood damage in the Peusangan river and weir in Bireuen, Aceh Province on December on November 30, 2025. (AFP/Vantor)
T
he death toll in deadly flooding and landslides across Sumatra rose on Tuesday to 631, with one million people evacuated, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said.
Government agencies and aid groups are rushing to get aid to those affected, while rescuers search for 472 people still listed as missing.
Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have suffered devastation after a rare tropical storm formed in the Malacca Strait unleashed torrential rains and wind gusts for a week that hampered efforts to reach people stranded by mudslides and high floodwaters.
At least 176 have been killed in Thailand and three in Malaysia, while the death toll climbed to 604 in Indonesia on Monday with 464 missing, according to official figures.
Under sunshine and clear blue skies in the town of Palembayan in West Sumatra, hundreds of people were clearing mud, trees and wreckage from roads as some residents tried to salvage valuable items like documents and motorcycles from their damaged homes.
Men in camouflage outfits sifted through piles of mangled poles, concrete and sheet metal roofing as pickup trucks packed with people drove around looking for missing family members and handing out water to people, some trudging through knee-deep mud.
The government's recovery efforts include restoring roads, bridges and telecommunications services. More than 28,000 homes have been damaged in Indonesia and 1.5 million people affected, according to the disaster agency.
President Prabowo Subianto visited the three affected provinces on Monday and praised residents for their spirit in the face of what he called a catastrophe.
"There are roads that are still cut off, but we're doing everything we can to overcome difficulties," he said in North Sumatra.
"We face this disaster with resilience and solidarity. Our nation is strong right now, able to overcome this."
In Palembayan, row after row of houses had collapsed, with crushed vehicles dotted along mud-laden streets and piles of motorcycles tangled up in heaps after being carried away by landslides and fast-flowing floodwaters.
Rescue teams were seen carrying away a body across a swathe of rural land now covered in debris, uprooted trees and household furniture.
"These used to be the houses of my parents, my brother, also my rice milling place, now all were gone," said Muhammad Rais, who lives in Palembayan and lost two family members. "We have nothing left."
