Indonesia Floods: Over 600 Dead, One Million Evacuated as disaster Response Escalates
Aceh, Indonesia – More than one million people have been evacuated across Indonesia as devastating floods and landslides triggered by torrential monsoon rains and a rare tropical storm surge past 600 confirmed deaths, officials reported Tuesday. The provinces of Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra are among the hardest hit, with widespread damage to infrastructure and displacement of communities.
The disaster, compounded by a tropical storm forming in the Malacca Strait, marks a important escalation of the annual monsoon season’s impact. The World Health Organization (WHO) is deploying rapid response teams and critical supplies to the region, focusing on strengthening disease surveillance amidst fears of outbreaks in overcrowded evacuation shelters. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasized the event as “another reminder of how climate change is driving more frequent and more extreme weather events, with disastrous effects.”
indonesia’s National Disaster Management agency (BNPB) confirmed the delivery of 34,000 tons of rice and 6.8 million litres of cooking oil to affected areas. Survivors sheltering in evacuation centers have recounted harrowing experiences, describing the sudden and overwhelming force of the floodwaters.”we didn’t think we would survive that night because the situation was so chaotic. Everyone was thinking about saving themselves. There was no prior warning whatsoever before the water came,” said Gahitsa Zahira Cahyani, 17, a student from an Islamic boarding school that was forced to evacuate hundreds of students who sought refuge in trees and on rooftops.
The seasonal monsoons routinely bring heavy rainfall and the risk of landslides and floods to Indonesia. However, this year’s extreme weather has been exacerbated by the unusual tropical storm, also causing significant devastation in southern Thailand, where 176 people have died. Sri Lanka is also grappling with the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, which has resulted in 390 deaths and 352 people remain missing.Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has declared a state of emergency, calling it the “most challenging natural disaster in our history.” While rains have subsided across Sri Lanka,landslide alerts remain in effect for the central region.
